Careful with my Heart
by icie celest
Summary: He's her first, she's his last. Relationships are a tricky, messy thing. And sometimes, the one who was meant for you may not be the one that you originally loved. (Part 2 of A Prince of Ylisse)
1. Chapter 1

Bright lights danced in the clear blue sky. They glowed brighter and drew closer until they coalesced into a giant mass that threatened to blind even the sun. The farmer had to stop flooding the rice paddies and watched the miracle that was happening in front of him. "What in blazes is that?" said the farmer as he shielded his eyes.

In a moment he saw something emerge from the light. It was a girl with her brown hair tied up in twin tails. She was armed to the teeth.

The girl saw him and her expression changed from steely determination, to shock and then to utter terror. "Get back!" she shouted.

The farmer ran away as the girl landed on the muddy paddy. She rolled until the momentum of her bad landing stopped. She picked herself up, using her sword as a crutch. "I'm covered in mud…" she muttered.

It wasn't that long after she landed that more people dropped out of the sky. No… they did not look like people to the farmer who was watching the scene from afar. They were pale and had glowing red eyes and they had an unbearable stench.

"Ugh! More Risen? These things are like weeds!" The girl exclaimed. She readied herself and attacked the first axe fighter that approached her.

She thrust her sword at the Risen's chest, pulled it out and her enemy dissipated in purple smoke. As swift as a gale, she ran towards the next enemy and hacked at its neck. An enemy managed to get close enough to graze her arm. The girl retaliated with a thrust to her enemy's gut, immediately turning it into vapor. The last fighter ran towards her and attacked her. She managed to dodge but that action wasn't enough to escape the axe's graze to her knee. She fell on the muddy ground, and the fighter raised his axe to deliver the final blow. The girl thrust her sword upwards, impaling the Risen through the chin and made it disappear forever.

She looked at the great lights in the sky and she hobbled towards it. "Come on!" she shouted. "Don't leave me alone here!" The lights flickered and danced and then it disappeared.

The girl looked like she saw the end of the world. She dropped her sword and then she fainted face first into the mud.

* * *

She catapulted awake and then she suddenly felt her body sore all over. It was all wrong! _'They followed me here. How come it was those dastards that followed me here?'_ She thought.

A gentle hand slowly pushed her down. "Hello darling, nice to see you're finally awake."

The girl turned her head to look at where the voice was coming from. A woman sat on the edge of the bed and she was smiling sweetly at her. "I'm Anouk and thank you for rescuing my husband Holland. You've been asleep for three days so you must be starving."

Her stomach growled right on cue.

"I knew it! Here, drink some water first," the woman said. She propped a pillow behind the girl's back and handed her a glass of water. The girl drank it like she hasn't had water in decades. "Good girl, but you better drink a little slowly. Can you tell me your name?"

"You. You're human!" it was wonderful to see another human being.

"Ah yes, I am," she shrugged. "And so are you. What is your name?"

The girl looked around her. She was in a tiny room and on a hard bed. Outside she could hear different kinds of birds and she could smell something nasty. Was it wet wool? No, they were pigs. A quick glance outside told her that she was on a farm. It was clearly not the place she was looking for. "Why do you want to know my name? I'm leaving."

The woman frowned, "that's fine by me. Except that you're in an island, you have no money for a ferry and you're still very weak. You might as well tell me your name as a courtesy for healing you."

The girl looked at the scars that were inflicted by the Risen. They have been reduced to welts and she realized that the least she could do was to tell Anouk her name. "I'm Severa," she answered.

"Severa, alright. Here, the only thing I can give you right now is gruel but you will have a better lunch once your body gets used to eating something, I promise you that."

Severa finished the gruel in one go. Anouk was right, she was starving. She hasn't had a decent meal since… forever… and the gruel she was given tasted delicious. She did not care about a better lunch, she could live on just gruel.

"When am I?" She asked her.

"What kind of question is that?" Anouk told her the date anyway.

Severa brightened up. "It worked!" she exclaimed. She was sent twenty years in the past, _'But I'm way too far from Ylisse,'_ she thought _._ "Anouk, did other people come after me?"

"You mean other than the ones that you fought? No. What were those things anyway?"

"We call them Risen. They're family, friends, ordinary people who died and came back to life and they're abominations. Ugh, it's complicated! I will tell you all about it later," she answered.

"My husband saw you fall from the sky. If you say that your story is complicated, I'll believe it. I'll believe anything."

Severa tilted her head, "Really?" she asked sardonically. "I traveled through time so I can be with the people I care for."

Anouk didn't bat an eye. Severa was a little shocked to see how easily Anouk accepted her explanation.

"I was with some friends… but, I don't see them anywhere. No one really came after me?"

"No one."

Tears rolled down her cheeks when she realized that she was all alone. With Risen following her after her leap through time, then it only meant one thing. The people who guarded the sanctuary door, Stahl and Lissa, died shortly after she jumped. Her friends might not have survived as she was followed by Risen. "Gawds!" She exclaimed. Her hands trembled as she covered her face, "they're dead… I'm all alone again… This can't keep happening…"

Anouk patted her back. "You poor thing! You must've gone through so much. Don't worry, you're not alone. If you need someone, I'm here."

The kindness that Anouk exhibited reminded her of the one she left behind to die. "S-Stahl…" she mumbled.

000

Severa did everything in her power to help Holland and Anouk with keeping the farm. In time the villagers got word of the new girl. The kindly couple who took her in told the villagers that she was Holland's long lost niece, and like Holland and Anouk, they readily accepted that explanation. "Are the people in this time really that naïve?" She asked Anouk.

"No, they just accept the easiest explanation and go on with their lives if it doesn't directly affect them."

' _I wonder if my parents would do the same if they saw me,'_ she thought.

She didn't think that she would stay that long in one place, not when she was supposed to save the world. Two years have passed since she crash landed in Holland's farm. Some Risen occasionally pop up but Severa was ready to defend the village. When it's peaceful, she improved her cooking skills and picked up other domestic traits. It wasn't so bad doing chores but she knew that there was more to life than being a village lass.

But she just couldn't leave Holland and Anouk yet. Especially since they have a baby on the way and Holland didn't have enough money to raise a child. To repay them for their kindness and hospitality, Severa joined the mercenaries in the fortress nearby. Holland tagged along with her.

The mercenaries were all really a bunch of bullies.

"Gyahaha! What a haul! Those farmers may not have enough gold, but their food is the best. We could eat for free for the rest of our lives if we stay here," a berserker said.

Holland gripped his lance and stood beside Severa as they watched the rest of the mercenaries eat the rest of the season's harvest. Severa sneered at them.

"Roasted corn for everyone today, and tomorrow we'll have pig meat," the leader, a sage named Nelson, said. He sat down on a chair and admired a ring on his finger. He smirked and looked at Severa, letting the ring catch a glint of light in front of her.

"That toad. I can't leave this place until I get that ring," she told the farmer.

"But you're not strong enough to take it from him," answered Holland.

"You think I don't know that?" She folded her arms and glared at Nelson. She flipped him and then walked away. _'I can't watch that rat bastard anymore. I have to get some fresh air,'_ she thought.

The mercenary made her way outside the castle and paced back and forth. _'What to do? What to do? Gawds! That ring is the only thing I have left of my mother. What am I even thinking?! She's not important to me anymore. She left me for Chrom. I just need to get that ring because dad gave it to her.'_ She trembled in anger. _'Nelson has to pay. He has to die!'_

"This can't go on, Elder! We barely have enough to get by as it is!" She heard a villager exclaim. Severa went a little closer to hear the conversation.

"Their leader is a former Valmese general! We'll be crushed if we resist..." the village elder answered. She knew those two people. They were Holland's neighbors, and they were nice to her like the rest of the villagers.

A group of people approached the elder. They were armed heavily and the elder visibly shuddered. Perhaps they were the reinforcements for Nelson's mercenaries.

Severa went a little closer to observe what will happen next. Things might go awry and there has been no bloodshed so far. She wanted to keep it that way but if push comes to shove, she will draw her sword and kill Nelson's mercenaries.

"What's that about Valm?" The man who was obviously the leader asked the Elder. He was clad in dark blue, like the color of his hair, and something about him reminded him of Lucina.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Chrom," the man in blue answered.

"The ruler of Ylisse?!"

Severa's jaw dropped. _'Chrom?!That guy is Lucina's dad? That guy is the one my mother fawned over?! She chose him over me?! Over my dad? Puh-leeasssee… he's not even cute.'_ She was used to seeing a thirty-something ruler with lines on his face and shorter hair. _'He's a midget!' S_ he's just used to seeing the Shepherds towering over her.

The armed people were the Shepherds right in front of her. _'Then, my dad must be there!'_ She scanned the group for any signs of her father. She wasn't looking for a white-haired knight in light blue armor. She was looking for somebody who had her hair, her mouth and her grim expression.

There he was in his full battle regalia atop his destrier, looking stern, proud and ready to lay the smack down on anybody who badmouths Chrom. Severa compared her father's looks to that of Chrom's. _'My dad is definitely better looking. Gwads! Mom was so immature! My dad is clearly superior,'_ Severa smiled. This is what she was waiting for. She can finally set things right.

She had to stop herself from running towards them and hugging her father. He wouldn't recognize her. He wouldn't even know that he had a time traveling daughter. He might even kill her since she is with the mercenary band.

The villager tugged on the elder's sleeve. "Elder! He may be able to help us!"

"Um, I can hear you," said Chrom, "But tell me your problem, and I'll see what I can do."

"Oh, thank you, sir!"

Severa ran back inside to tell Holland of the news. Chrom's army might get them out of their predicament.

* * *

"Urgent news, sir!" A mercenary ran towards the leader. "Armed soldiers approach! Their leader claims to be Chrom of Ylisse!"

"Dammit!" Nelson banged his hand on the table. The rest of the mercenaries stopped eating and looked at the commotion. Severa just got back in time to see the situation brewing. "Why would he come here?"

The soldier shrugged.

"Well, if they insist on dogging me, I've got hounds of my own to welcome them with." He spotted Severa and flashed her, his ring.

"I'm not your dog, scum!" Severa exclaimed. She had no love for Nelson and the leader knew that.

"No, only a stray mutt that refuses to stop yapping. But you'll be a good dog and do as I say if you ever want—"

"Yes, yes, if I ever want to see it again. I'm well aware," she rolled her eyes.

"I trust you're equally aware of your position, Holland?" Nelson asked the farmer.

Holland sighed and pulled the pot on his head lower to cover his eyes.

"Loquacious as ever, I see," Nelson laughed. "You'll fight for me, or I'll have that lazy tongue pried from your head. Now then, Chrom may have the Fire Emblem in his possession... And if I claim that, I've practically claimed the throne. So go out there, kill anything that moves, and get me that Emblem!"

"Yeah!" The mercenaries shouted.

Severa scanned her memory for the events that happened in her past. The battle over the Fire Emblem shouldn't happen until much later. Lucina should still be a baby at this point. _'Gods! The events sped up when we messed with time. I have to do something. Remember what Stahl said….' Keep the Fire Emblem in the right hands'. Oh no, this is more than just about my ring now. This is about saving the world.'_

* * *

She had to help the Shepherds in her own way. Making her way to the entrance, Severa slipped past some mercenaries who were busy with preparing and arming themselves. She went ahead and opened the eastern gates when she heard the unmistakable sound of flapping Pegasus wings near her.

She turned around and saw the rider "...Oh, gods. It's _you_." She said when she realized that she was talking to her mother, Cordelia.

"Have we met? If so, I'm afraid I've quite forgotten." The rider asked her. Severa looked at her long red hair that looked like it was perpetually windswept. Severa was irritated by the quizzical look in her eyes. _'Of course mom had to be very, very pretty.'_

"Well, excuse me for being so forgettable!" She exclaimed.

Cordelia gripped her lance and aimed it at Severa. "Look, there's no time for this. If you're a friend, speak now. If not, then stay out of Chrom's way or I'll have to cut you down."

She couldn't believe the nerve of this woman! "Chrom, Chrom, Chrom! It's ALWAYS Chrom with you!" Severa stomped her foot on the ground.

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be! And I don't care about your stupid Chrom, so you can just drop it!" Severa softened a bit. It was unfair. She couldn't help but lash out at her mother every time she sees her. It's just so annoying that even in this timeline, she still only cared about Chrom. _'Of course she wouldn't recognize me. I haven't been born yet,'_ she thought.

An awkward silence passed between them. "I only want to talk to Holland," Severa said.

"Holland?"

"Yes, Holland! That sad sack over there," she pointed at the farmer who was walking towards his post. "Watch my back so I can get to him safely, and then I'll help your stupid army!"

"O...okay?"

"Oh, and Holland's not here of his own will, so don't you dare hurt him!" She shouted. Severa ran inside. Cordelia followed her with the rest of Chrom's army in her tail.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. Just a copy of the game, but rights and stuff go to Nintendo and IS.


	2. Chapter 2

The path from the east gate was longer than she remembered and Severa ran all the way down the hall to get Holland out of the fortress. Cordelia and three other Pegasus riders made a pathway for her and slung spells with the magic users on the other side of the wall. It took her some time, but she recognized the Dark Fliers by basing it on hair color. Everybody looked so young (some of them were probably younger than her now) that she couldn't call them Aunt anymore. Lissa, Olivia, Sumia, looked majestic on top of their winged steeds. She was a bit happy to see Lissa alive and well and also surprised that Lissa fought alongside Chrom. Where she came from, the Lissa she knew was left to stew in Ylisse.

Severa can't shake the image of Lissa's corpse at the Sanctuary Entrance off of her mind.

She hurried to the hall where she saw Holland go to. The door was locked when she got there and the only other pathway was filled with mercenaries who were out to kill anything that moved. "Damn! I'm so close to saving the blasted farmer. Gods if you can send me a miracle, that would be great."

Her father came to her call with Panne sitting behind him on his horse. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Severa's mouth quivered. She missed her father so much, but she had to hold in her tears. There were other important things to do than crying.

"Yes. Somebody please open this door," Severa answered. Panne hopped off the horse and picked the door lock.

"There, all done," Panne said. The taguel hooped back on Frederick's horse and the two of them left to clear the hallway.

Severa ran ahead to the farmer, "Holland!" she cried.

"Severa! What are you doing here? If he knows you left your post..."

"I'm leaving, Holland, and you're coming with me," she grabbed the farmer's arm.

"Severa, I... I can't. You know I can't. I have a wife. If I don't earn Nelson's coin, she'll starve. I know it's blood money, but—"

"Your wife is PREGNANT, Holland! You know that, don't you?!"

"Of course I know that! And it's none of your concern!"

She's having none of it. Holland was stupid in comparison to Anouk. "Do you love your child, Holland? Do you love your wife?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then stop making excuses! I know that parents will do anything for their children..." she looked away. "But I also know how it feels when a child loses her parents. This world's got far too many kids who've gone through that. If you stay, you'll be killed or worse. And your child deserves better!"

Holland took off his pot helmet. "Severa, I...I'm sorry. I didn't know. That must have been hard for you…"

Severa stared glared at him. _'I do not need your sympathy. I need you to get out of here.'_

"You're right. My child deserves better. Let's get out of here."

"Really?!" She didn't think that he could be easily convinced.

"Yes, really. But we have to hurry!" She signaled to someone to come take Holland away. Frederick came and assisted the farmer out of the building.

Footsteps were heard coming from the trapdoors near her. With a bang, the doors opened and a couple of sages appeared.

"You!" One of them exclaimed. "You traitor!"

Severa ran the sage through with her sword before the sage could cast a spell on her. Then she pulled out her sword and killed the other one. Before she could catch her breath, an assassin and a berserker arrived. She weighed her options _'sword versus axe, and sword versus sword. The sword has the advantage of length. Barbarian it is!'_

"Aaaahhh!" Severa screamed as she launched herself to attack the huge brute. Her sword clashed against the axe, but her enemy's strength caught her off guard. The barbarian disarmed her and her sword clattered to the ground.

She waited for the axe to cleave her in two. _'This is it. I'll die before she can save the world. How pathetic."_

Thundering hoofbeats reverberated down the hall. _'Thank the gods, my father returned!'_ In an instant, a blur of rider and horse came to her side, blocked the incoming axe attack and fell the barbarian. "Made it!" he said.

Severa took that as an opportunity to grab her sword and charge at the assassin. The assassin was too fast for her and managed to block her attack, but the rider helped her out with one well placed thrust to the neck. The assassin slowly slid off the rider's sword, his blood smearing the cold steel. It was one of the gorier kills that Severa has seen in her entire life, but it saved her bacon.

"Are you alright?" The rider asked her.

She looked up, expecting her father, but saw a completely different man. He was tall, had a charming yet goofy grin, and he was extending her a helping hand. _'H_ _ello Stahl. You just had to be dashing. So what is the most dashing cliché thing that a knight would do? Rescue the damsel.'_ Severa flushed. "I… I… S-Sss…" now that she found him, she was at a total loss for words. She threw her arms around his waist.

It was awkward since he was still on top of his horse. "Whoa! I didn't expect you to just throw your arms around me like that," he said as he scratched his cheek.

"You're alive!" she exclaimed.

He gently pushed her away. "Um, you must've mistaken me for somebody else," he said. "I'm sorry but, I haven't met you before."

In that moment, her world came crashing down. She knew that nobody would recognize her in the past, but it still hurt when she was reminded of it. And it hurt more when those words came from him.

He smiled warmly when he noticed her unease and he patted her head. He assisted her up his horse, "That doesn't mean that I won't take the chance to get to know you."

Her face turned red.

"I'm Stahl by the way. Don't worry, I'm here now and I've got you. We should head back with the rest of the company."

Severa shook her head. "No, let's take on Nelson. He's the mercenary boss and I know where he is. You have to take me to him, he has something of mine and it's important. It's really, really important!"

He nodded. "Alright. Let's do this. Hiya!" he urged his horse to run to the leader's whereabouts. Severa clung on tightly to his waist and closed her eyes. _'It's him. It's really him. I found him and I'm with him.'_

* * *

Stahl and Severa made their way to Nelson. He grabbed the nearest Thoron book he saw when he saw Severa riding a horse with somebody who wasn't a part of his company. "Traitorous wench!" the sage cried.

Severa brandished her sword. "You've got to be loyal before you can be a traitor, you idiot! And you're one to talk, extorting a poor, innocent girl like me... It's time you learned just how deadly this innocent girl can be!" Severa shouted.

Stahl took that as a cue to charge at the sage. They were met with a lightning bolt that came out of Nelson's fingertips. He maneuvered his horse to avoid it, and when he got close enough, the girl behind him struck. She sliced off his arm in one clean cut, the book falling down to the floor on a puddle of blood. Stahl turned around again to charge at the enemy and deliver the final strike.

The destrier slowed down in front of the fallen sage and Severa dismounted. She knelt to pick up the dismembered hand and take off her mother's ring, "yes, here it is!" She saw a talisman around Nelson's neck and took it as well.

Chrom and a little girl, who Severa thought was Nowi, caught up to them. He saw the piece of gold glinting in Severa's hands."Is that a ring?" he asked.

"It's MY ring, and I'll thank you to stop staring so lustily at it! It's worth more than anything in the world to me... That rat Nelson stole it one night while I was sleeping."

"Well, I'm glad you were able to get it back," Chrom said.

"...Hmph"

Chrom, Nowi and Stahl looked at each other. The new girl certainly had an attitude.

The rest of the company managed to make their way to where Chrom was.

"Oh. ...You," Cordelia said.

"Wh-what do you want?!" She asked her mother.

"Just to thank you for helping us. You fought bravely, er..."

"Severa. ...My name's Severa."

"It suits you somehow. Oh, and my name—"

"Cordelia. I know." She looked away from her.

"Er, yes, that's... But how did you...? I'm sorry, did I introduce myself before?"

"I guess you must have if I know your name. Gods..." her mother was as exasperating as she was in her other life.

"I...I see. Well, thank you all the same, Severa."

"You already said that!" Severa stomped her foot. "And besides, it's not like I did anything special. I was just fighting to get back what's rightfully mine."

"Are you referring to that ring?" Cordelia peered at the thing in Severa's hand. "Oh, goodness. It looks exactly like…" the ring in her finger glinted and matched the bloody one in Severa's hands.

"Ah, I see. That would explain how you know my name. You're a friend of Lucina's, aren't you? ...And you're my child. Isn't that right?"

Frederick's eyes widened when he heard this. He absentmindedly touched his hair and looked at the girl. "She is mine," he said happily.

Severa looked at the floor and traced circles with her foot. "...lonely..." she said softly.

"What was that?" Cordelia asked.

"I SAID, I thought you'd be lonely, so I came here to see you! ...You're welcome."

Cordelia smiled. "That's very sweet."

"D-don't mock me! You don't care! You don't care at all..." She also didn't care that she was making a scene in front of everyone.

"How could you possibly think that? I'm thrilled beyond words to meet you," Cordelia said. She dismounted her Pegasus and walked towards Severa, wanting to give her a hug but the girl slapped her hand away.

"Then why'd you leave me? You said you had to go off to fight for what really mattered, and you never came back! You picked Chrom over me!"

There was a collective gasp amongst the Shepherds. They all looked at Chrom who was just as startled at what Severa said. "What the hey Chrom! You're married!" Lissa scolded her brother. His wife Olivia shook her head and chuckled. She found this quite amusing.

Cordelia's face reddened but she calmed herself down. "You have me at a disadvantage, Severa. I can't answer for my future self. But when I said I was fighting for what mattered, I probably meant you. I'd want nothing more than to build a world where you could grow up happy and strong. At least, that's what I want right now."

"You think I don't know that? I mean, I DO know that, but..." her own words to Holland resounded in her head. _'_ _I know that parents will do anything for their children...'_

"I'm sorry I wasn't a better mother to you," Cordelia looked like her perfection was about to be marred with tears.

No, she didn't go all the way back to the past to destroy her relationship with her mother. She went back to fix the world, and that included how she treated her mother. "Well, you're still MY mother, which makes you the best mother in the world."

"And the luckiest, it seems."

She threw her arms around Cordelia and cried. "Oh, Mom, I missed you so much!" Cordelia drew her closer and ran her fingers through the mercenary's hair. "I...I'm sorry I was so mean... I just... I didn't want to lose you again... Promise you won't leave, okay? Promise!"

"I promise," Cordelia said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chrom's faction went back outside the Mercenary Fortress after one of the strangest recruitments the Shepherds have encountered. They were greeted by the rest of the Shepherds and the villagers. "Citizens, you are free from the mercenary menace. You will get back your harvest and your property," Chrom told the villagers. There was loud cheering from the people and they chanted Chrom's name.

"How can we ever repay you?" The village elder asked.

Chrom smiled, "well, we traveled far and wide. How about some merrymaking? We'll pay for everything."

"Of course, milord!"

Frederick organized the villagers to get back their property. He asked Donnel to assist him in the process, especially with the bit about pigs. Maribelle and Lissa went ahead to the village to organize the impromptu party. When everything was in proper order, the Shepherds headed to Holland and Anouk's village.

There were lots and lots of food. The baker made cakes for the occasion and Gauis made his way to the dessert table. He grabbed a chunk of it with his fingers and swallowed the confection whole. Cherche helped the butcher roast a pig and Stahl was the first in line to eat it. He asked for seconds and thirds. The brewer used his best ale for the party and Vaike challenged Chrom to a drinking match. The prince didn't stand a chance.

Severa looked for the other people from her timeline. She found Lucina, Inigo, Owain (who was now strangely blonde), Cynthia (who had unusually silver hair) and a confused but chipper Morgan. No, something was wrong. Morgan hung around her father but she kept asking him the stupidest things like "what's a party?" and "who is my mother again?" Morgan was incomplete.

She found out that Lissa married Libra in this timeline and Sumia married Henry. _'They already met Henry and Sumia married him?!'_ The couples that she knew back then were different, and not all of them were married yet. The changes from her timeline must have been a complication with time travel.

"Miriel called it a paradox. It's a result of time branching out into different paths and it's rather complicated," Lucina filled her in. "She suggested that if there was a need to interfere, we should only do so with big events and leave the little things, like who will marry whom, alone. Now, she didn't say anything about starting a bond with them."

Severa felt her cheeks become pink. She remembered that Lucina was one of the last people who jumped the time stream and heard her confession.

"Okay. So, who does Owain remember as his dad?" She asked to change the topic.

Lucina rubbed her chin, "he said it has always been Libra, but he thought it was Ricken. To keep himself _sane_ , he just went with Libra and accepted Miriel's explanation."

At least Severa didn't have to go through with the same experience. Frederick is still her father, and as far as she's concerned, her only father. "And the others?"

"We believe that they will not find them unless their parents get married in this timeline. Also, our ages varied once we got here. Owain, Inigo and I got sent here two years ago so we all got older. I surmise that Noire is older too. Cynthia however, just got here as her parents only married this year so she is still fifteen. If their parents get married this year, then it's possible for Gerome and Laurent to be younger than me. If they don't marry, then some of our friends may not exist in this timeline. Anna is everywhere. For some reason she split into several versions of herself, or she really has several sisters who look exactly like her. Yen'fay cannot be found anywhere even if he was the first one to leap."

"And Morgan?"

"She lost her memories," Lucina answered. "There are several complications that happened when we leapt. Where we are now is certainly not the past that we were supposed to be in, but I have decided to save this world's future just the same."

Chrom accepted defeat from his drinking match with Vaike. He raised his hands and shook the man's hand, and then he walked up to the stage in front of the musicians. "I have a special announcement to make. This party wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the efforts of my comrades, the Shepherds. I would like to take this opportunity and promote my friend, Stahl of Southtown. He took down Nelson and therefore deserves this Master Seal. Stahl, come up to the stage please."

The cavalier in the viridian armor blushed. Sully patted his back and urged him to stand up. "Go Stahllion," she said. Stahl made his way up the stage and Chrom put the medal around his neck.

"Do you choose to be a Paladin or a Great Knight?"

"A Paladin, milord," he answered.

"Kneel," Chrom commanded. Stahl did as he was told. The prince unsheathed his Falchion and tapped Stahl's shoulders with the flat of his blade. "By the power vested in me, I dub thee Sir Stahl, Paladin of Ylisse. Now go forth and party!"

Stahl stood up and grinned. As he ran down the stage, he was greeted with a hug and congratulations by his peers. The village musicians struck a happy tune and everybody danced.

The newly promoted paladin eyed Olivia sitting in the 'royal' table. She glanced at him and Stahl smiled at her. _'Maybe this is the time to finally ask her for a dance,'_ he thought. His knees felt weak as he made his way towards the queen. Olivia just sat there, looking sheepishly at him, understanding what he wanted to do. She was about to stand up and dance with him when Chrom tapped her shoulder. Her trance was broken as she saw her husband offer her his hand. She took it, but not before she sent a glance at Stahl.

He knew that hopeless look all too well.

"Hmph! That's gross," he heard somebody say. He looked behind him and saw Severa with her arms folded across her chest.

"Severa?" Stahl raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"What's gross?"

Severa put her hands on her hips. "Let me tell you a little something, Stahl." She drew him to a spot away from the others. The paladin had to bow a little because she was a head smaller than him. "In the future, everybody knows your secret. Everybody," she said.

"What secret?"

"That you're in love with Olivia."

Stahl was flustered. "Everybody?"

"Yes. Everybody. Even Chrom. And that was one whole awkward mess that took three years to fix. It would do you good to just forget about her. She's just not for you," Severa said.

He looked at how her brows were always knotted, and how her eyes darted to the side sometimes. A frown that was plastered to her lips marred an otherwise pretty face. That was the first time that he really looked at her. It must've been the soft sunset, or the bit of ale that he had that made things seem odd. Whatever it was, he thought that the fire in her eyes was worth noting because Severa had the most expressive face that he has ever seen. "I thank you for the concern." He wondered what she looked like when she smiled.

She flushed. "I- it's not like I said that because I was concerned about you or something. I just… I hate fairs and merrymaking. It's so dumb."

He chuckled. "I hate fairs too," he said, "but I love being merry."

"Oh yeah? I hate fairs so much I didn't even go to my Debutante's Ball."

' _Oh, so she's competitive. What a weird topic to compete on, 'who hates fairs more''._

"Every year it's the same. There's food, dancing and girls in itchy clothing who are ready to get hitched. And in the end, it's just a popularity contest. They always end the Harvest Festival with a Debutante's Ball and crown the one with the biggest jugs as the Harvest Queen," she pouted.

He knew there was something more to it than that. "That's a shame. I think you would've won as Harvest Queen."

Severa put a hand to her heart and took her eyes away from him. Her cheeks tinged a light shade of pink. "N-naturally, if I bothered to go there," she said.

He chuckled. _'That's an unusual kind of confidence. It's like she's telling herself that she's the best but only because she's insecure. Is it an inferiority superiority complex?'_ He scratched the tip of his nose, "How old are you anyway?" Stahl asked.

"I'm nineteen. Way past debuting," she sighed.

She didn't say the words, but her tone, her body movements, her eyes betrayed her. Something must've happened in her past that made her stay at home and miss her debut. Perhaps it was the apocalypse. Perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, he knew she was sad and it went against Stahl's whole being to see somebody so down. "Oh, it doesn't matter if you are way past the age to debut. If you want, we can turn this night into a triple celebration: my promotion, your debut and the village's freedom."

The girl's eyes widened. "Are you stupid? That's… that's so embarrassing! They wouldn't let me do that. I'm not from around here and this year's Harvest Festival is over. And I'm four years late for my debut!"

Stahl smiled warmly. "Severa, you are a daughter of a knight and deserve to be treated as such. Besides, the villagers here like you and you saved them from Nelson. I don't think that they would mind if they play 'The Little Waltz' for you. Now, excuse me," he said. He walked towards the nearest villager. "Hello sir, are you familiar with Severa?"

The villager he grabbed was Holland. "Yes," Holland answered.

"Would you mind if she debuts today? She apparently missed her chance four years ago."

"No, I don't think anyone would mind."

"Thanks!" He turned Holland away and saw a shocked Severa. "There you have it. They don't mind." Before Severa could protest, Stahl was already running towards Frederick.

"Frederick, apparently Severa didn't attend her debutante's ball…"

Frederick closed his eyes and smiled as the paladin explained the situation. Frederick then went to Chrom and the prince announced the impromptu debut. The villagers went "awww". Cordelia embraced her daughter and Severa looked like she was going to die.

Stahl sidled next to her and smiled, proud of his little handiwork.

"Gods! You're an idiot. I'm not even made up for something fancy," she said angrily.

"What? But you're already very pretty," he said.

She lightly hit his arm and her eyes turned to slits. Right at the corners of her mouth was a hidden smile.

"There's a problem though. Who would want to escort me? Out of the two guys here from my timeline, Owain is practically married to Cynthia and I don't really like Inigo," she said.

"Inigo is a nice guy," Stahl answered.

"Just no. You can't convince me to do this stupid debut!"

"Maribelle is about to go on stage to play for you and there are other bachelors in the army if you don't want to dance with Inigo or Owain. Escort her, Stahl. This was your idea and it's your night too," Cordelia said.

Stahl scratched the back of his head. "If you say so Cordelia, but, if Severa doesn't mind having somebody older?" he asked.

"It's just a dance you two, and I wouldn't really say that twenty-one is old," Cordelia said.

Maribelle took the stage and played a waltz. The music was light for the violin and it was a perfect song to end the day. He stood up, scratched his nose and offered his hand to Severa. "Milady, if I can have this dance?"

"Fine, but it's not like I have a choice anyway! If I declined your invitation, mom would just push me to dance with the others," she said with a pout. Severa accepted his hand and he swept her away to the dance floor. He knew how to dance a waltz, it was part of his knightly training to know how, but it wasn't perfect. He stepped on her toes and she cringed.

"Look, there are stars above you now," he said.

The two of them didn't realize that they have been dancing for a while. Severa looked up and saw a stream of stars twinkling in the sky above them. They sparkled in her eyes and Stahl saw in them a certain sadness that was mixed with wonder.

"Do you like the stars?"

"Yes," she said. It was the first unguarded answer that she said. "I never really looked at them before. It feels like they're brighter here than they were in the future."

His brows furrowed. What happened in her past, his future, must've been indescribably dire. "I like a twinkling starlit night. You know, when the night sky is so dark that it seems to suck you in. And then you'll be covered with so many twinkling stars that it makes you dizzy."

"It almost seems like some of them will fall down," Severa said.

"Or you'll be the one to fall." She took her eyes off the stars for a moment and glanced at him. There was a questioning look on her face and Stahl didn't realize that he drew her closer to him. "You are here now, and the stars will shine brightly for you." He said to give her some much needed optimism.

She was awkward and stiff and couldn't look him in the eyes. Severa buried her face on his chest. He did not mind her familiarity as long as he knew that she was happy.

* * *

With the events of the day finally over, the Shepherds finally went back to camp. Everybody who had a tent set up, immediately slept off the booze. Those who were still sober tended the campfire and stayed awake to keep watch.

Robin added Severa to the roster and gave her a tent and a sleeping bag. The mercenary stared at Robin for a bit and found it strange that his hair has always been white. "Is there something on my face?" he asked.

"Nothing. Where am I gonna set up?" Severa asked.

"I don't know… Next to your parents' tent?" Robin shrugged. Severa rolled her eyes as she took what Robin gave her.

Humming softly to herself the song that Maribelle played in the party, she cleared the area where she was going to set her tent up. She was still a little giddy from that dance with Stahl and that proved to be a big distraction. _'Why the hell am I thinking of that now?'_ She unpacked the contents of what Robin gave her but she didn't know what to make of it.

"Ugh. This is pointless," she said as she kicked the sleeping bag. She looked for help and the nearest people she could find were Miriel and Stahl. Miriel was busy reading and Stahl was napping near the campfire. He wasn't wearing his breastplate, just the clothes underneath his armor, and she found herself staring at him.

' _I'll be damned before I ask him for help!'_ She stared at him and bit her lip. _'I am not helpless. I can do this!'_ She sighed as she picked up a tent pole and drove it to the ground.

"That's not how you set up a tent," somebody said. Severa turned around to see Stahl open his eyes and smile at her. He picked himself up and went to where she was. "Miriel's powers of observation activated," he said. "She told me to help you out."

She glared at him, "I'm fine. I can do this on my own. You don't always have to rescue me," she said.

"Okay… I know you don't want my help, but the thing is… before you got here, Lucina and the others didn't know how to set up camp either. Why not just shack up in your parents' tent tonight then you can set up your tent tomorrow?"

"Are you stupid? That's gross!"

"Sorry, I didn't think that through. Sometimes I tend to just blurt out things that come into my mind. You should've heard me one time. I said I was so hungry I could eat a Pegasus in front of Sumia, and then she threw every sharp object at me. She never talked to me again," he chuckled.

Severa chose to ignore his side comment about eating a Pegasus. "I'm a grown woman. I can't be seen chumming it out with my parents! Ugh!" She threw her hands in the air.

"I understand so I'll help set your tent up tonight. Anyway, I talked to Cynthia once and she said that my other self taught her how to set up camp in the future. But since everyone was constantly moving, you – we - just slept in bags."

Severa pouted, "Yeah, that's what we did. It was… difficult back then."

Stahl picked up the tools for the tent and he proceeded to stake the corners. "Care to tell me more?"

There was something about him that she couldn't resist. Normally, she would lash out at people for prying too much. But this was Stahl in front of her. She went back through time just to be with him. "I suppose I could," she sighed. "Cynthia told the truth. We never got to do much of anything there other than trying to survive. Everything that was good was destroyed back then." Severa looked at the ground and rubbed her shoulder. "It feels funny calling it _'back then'_ when technically it hasn't happened yet."

"It's just part of the wibbly-wobbliness of time," he answered.

"Before we leapt, there were eighteen of us. There were probably other humans in other parts of the world. But in Ylisse, only you, Lissa, Anna, Tiki, and Yen'fay were the only adults left."

He pondered on her words, "and I'm betting that the five of us died too."

Severa couldn't look him in the eyes. "You… you gave your life for us."

"It does sound like something I would do, and something I would do again."

She turned around so he wouldn't see her holding her tears back. _'Don't say that. Please don't say that! Don't sacrifice yourself again.'_

"Is that why you reacted that way when we first met?"

Severa clenched her fists. "Don't misunderstand that, I was just happy to see a familiar face."

"What else was the world like?" he asked as he continued working on the tent.

Severa closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She didn't want to recall the horrors of what she left behind. She felt Stahl's hands on her shoulders and she was brought back to reality. His hands seemed to have this strange power of calming her down. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me. It was insensitive of me to pry."

"You loved camping," she said just to veer away from the topic.

"More than I do food?"

"You always had food with you whenever you camped."

Stahl chuckled, "I suppose I do. Did you know that there were some issues here when Owain wondered why Ricken wasn't his father?"

"Yes, Lucina filled me in on things."

"Don't you ever wonder what would've happened if Olivia didn't marry Chrom?"

Severa folded her arms. "Look, I told you before that nothing good will come out of it. Get over her, Stahl. If she truly loved you, then she wouldn't have agreed to marry Chrom in the first place."

He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I was just wondering. You're right. I guess I really have to let go of her at some point. I'm sorry. I will not talk about Olivia again whenever we're together. It will take me some time but I will get over her."

"That's a start," she said. _'That's one rival down.'_

"Hey, so if Ricken married Lissa in your future, who else got married? I'm just curious."

She disregarded Lucina's warning about giving away too much information about the little things from the future. "I will tell you, but promise me that you will not interfere or set people up."

"I promise," he said. "On my knight's honor."

"Okay. So it's Maribelle and Vaike. Um, Miriel and Virion, Gregor and Panne, Donnel and Nowi, Sully and Kellam, Sumia married Gaius not Henry, and Cherche and Lon'qu," she counted them on her fingers as she listed the couples. "My parents, Robin and Tharja and Chrom and Olivia were the same couples."

"Lon'qu! Lon'qu got married?! To Cherche?"

"Why, what's wrong with that?"

Stahl shook his head. "You'll see why when you get to know them. So… whom did I marry?"

"No one."

"No one? Not even a village maiden?"

"No one."

He looked disappointed. "That's disconcerting. I guess I'm not good looking enough to be loved by anyone."

Severa rolled her eyes. _'You are absolutely not aware of your looks,'_ she thought. "Look, I already told you too much, and things might change because of it. Have you ever wondered if maybe the one who was meant for you wasn't from this timeline?" she asked. She covered her mouth when she realized what she said.

"Severa, what are you – " He stopped mid-sentence. It sounded like there was something in the bushes. Stahl picked up the tent pole that was near him to use it as a lance if needed be. Severa's hand went to the hilt of her sword. He signaled for her to move behind him.

Someone was getting hurt. Stahl gripped the pole and quietly walked towards the bushes, Severa followed him. They held their breaths and waited for something to attack them. The noises were getting louder… louder… until they were audible enough.

"Have my child!" they heard.

Severa's jaw dropped. It was her mother's voice.

"Have my child!"

She went beet red.

"Yes! I'm gonna be a daddeeehhhh!"

Stahl dropped the tent pole and covered his mouth. It was Frederick shouting.

"Shh! Keep it down Bear! Someone might hear us."

"But if you don't do this, Severa might not be born at all. You have to do it! Do it for her. Yes, do it for Severa!"

Discovering that he and Cordelia had a child in the future was the best aphrodisiac.

"Oh gods!' Severa ran away with her hands to her ears.

* * *

Credits: "C'est ca L'amour" is the French version of "So this is Love" from Disney's Cinderella.


	4. Chapter 4

"Rise and shine, sunshine! " Cynthia shouted as she shook Severa awake.

"Gaah! I'm awake! I'm awake…" Severa touched her temples and felt them throb.

"Come on! I still have to fix my tent, your father is outside, and he's very angry," Cynthia said.

' _Oh gods!'_ She wished she never met her father's younger self. She didn't know that he was _that_ overzealous. A poster that said _"Truth! Justice! And the Ylissean Way!"_ was tacked to the tent flap and she realized that she was in Cynthia's tent. _'How did I get here?'_

"Just how much did you drink last night?"

"Not enough," Severa answered. She had a massive hangover from last night and no amount of ale can make her forget what happened. With Cynthia's help, she gathered her wits and threw the tent flap open. The bright sunlight almost blinded her. "I can't see!"

She was forcefully dragged out of the tent by big strong hands. Severa blinked several times to focus on the person who dragged her outside. It was her father.

"Oh gods no! Let me back in!" she shouted.

Cynthia went outside her tent and saw Severa struggling in her father's grip. "Uhm, Uncle Freddy?" she wondered what Frederick was doing.

"Just fix your tent Cynthia," he said. "Severa, it's time that you have a bit of discipline. You're part of the army now and must do everything – "

"Eewww, no! I can't look at you without hearing… It's just…ugh… * _blech_!*" she barfed on Frederick's armor. "You're gross!" She told her father.

Cynthia gasped and her hands went to her mouth.

Frederick recoiled in disgust, took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped bits of barf off his face. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the med tent. He set Severa on one of the cots. He looked for a clean cloth in the tent and proceeded to clean himself with it.

Lissa was in there with Libra and Maribelle, waiting to see if their services were needed. Stahl was inside the tent, making vulneraries and elixirs with Tharja, Miriel, and Ricken. The paladin's face went red when he saw Frederick scolding Severa. Everybody else was dumbfounded.

"Why are you punishing meeeeee?" Severa whined.

"It's your first day in the army and you smell like alcohol," Frederick said. He tried his best not to physically punish a grown woman.

"I don't have a hangover… I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine!"

"You know what they say, you're never truly a parent until your child has barfed on you," Lissa snickered.

Stahl stopped what he was doing and ran over to the knight commander. "Um sir, you see last night, the whole camp…" He whispered what transpired to his superior.

A moment of shock appeared on Frederick's face. He immediately composed himself. "I see," Frederick blushed and nodded his head. "The whole camp knows," Frederick cleared his throat. "See what you can do to make her feel better."

Stahl saluted, "yes sir!" he said as Frederick left the med tent.

Lissa made her way to Stahl, "How is she? Does she have a fever? Do you think we need to use a healing staff?" she asked.

Severa groaned on the cot. "My head hurts…" she wobbled and Stahl steadied her.

"No, I can handle this," Stahl said.

The paladin took off his gauntlets and felt for her pulse. Severa felt flustered when he touched her wrist. "Huh, your pulse is fast and you're red," he said.

Her mouth felt dry, "I-I… it's…" she couldn't make a complete sentence now that she's face to face with him. _'Dammit! He's too close.'_

"How are you feeling? Do you feel queasy? Is the room spinning? How's your breathing?" Lissa asked.

She grabbed on to Stahl's armor for support. "There is something strange," she said, "right here." She placed her hands on her stomach. "I was also blind awhile ago…"

Stahl knelt in front of her and raised his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked.

"Fifteen?"

"Oh dear," he said. He only showed her two.

"What's going on?" Severa asked. Severa tried to remember what exactly happened last night beyond hearing her parents embarrassingly make love. She couldn't remember anything.

"In case you forgot, you drank a lot of forget-me-nows after we heard you-know-what. Cynthia and Owain saw you running and they were worried about you. More stuff happened, and more forget-me-nows were drunk and we found out that you can't contain your alcohol at all. You fell in a ditch and I had to carry you back to camp."

' _He carried me last night?!'_

He brushed her bangs away and pressed his forehead on hers. "S-Stahl, what are you doing?" She stammered. _'Too close! He's too close!'_

"Checking out your temperature and you're hot," he said. The other people in the tent guffawed. Stahl immediately separated himself from Severa. "I meant you're warm!" He went back to the potions table and mixed something for her.

She covered her face with her hands.

"Here," he said. He gently pried her hands off her face. When she opened her eyes, his face was close to hers and a sweet smile played on his lips. He knelt on bended knee in front of her and he offered her a potion bottle. "There's nothing to worry about. You don't have the flu or something, it's just a hangover. Have some of my family's anti-hangover cure. It works like magic."

"I don't have a hangover," she repeated what she said a while ago, "It's just a headache."

"Of course you don't," he smiled knowingly. "Now drink up!"

She drank what he gave her. It tasted sweet and salty and it left a strange aftertaste. She felt her stomach stabilizing. "Ugh! This is weird. What's in it?"

"Um, dihydrogen monoxide or oxidane. We still have debates on what to call that, actually. Hydrogen hydroxide? Hydrogen dioxide? And then some bit of sodium bicarbonate and sucrose," he answered, knowing full well that she wouldn't understand what he just said.

Severa's eyes rolled. "Eewww, nerd alert! Did you grind flowers for this or something?"

He handed her a glass of water. "Uh, are you talking about sucrose?" he grinned. "It's in tiny granules but no, I didn't grind flowers. Let's just keep it as my family's secret okay? Maybe next time, drink a little less ale? I worry about you now that I've seen what it can do to you."

' _He must think I'm really stupid now,'_ she thought. She gazed at his hazel eyes and she liked how kind they were. Her lips curled up a little and he smiled at her again. _"_ I like that you're always smiling."

Stahl looked a little flustered. "Well, it's kind of my job to always smile. But more importantly, there it is! You're smiling now. I guess you're feeling better," he said.

' _Goodness! Did I just say that out loud? Oh no! Oh crap!'_ She immediately changed her expression into a scowl. "Stahl, Why are you doing this? Why are you taking care of me?" Her eyes darted to the side, "It's not like I wanted to thank you or something, but is it because my dad told you to? And… and…" No matter what timeline he was in, Stahl has always been caring.

"No, I'm doing this for your sake. Besides, there's nothing wrong with accepting my help," he answered.

She felt her heart beat faster. _'Those were the same things the other him told me'_. But the other him who told her that was way too old for her and he was gone. Now that she's in the past and they're almost at the same age, things were different. The man in front of her wasn't the Stahl that she knew. She felt silly, way too silly and way too giddy. And it was too early and she was still a little hungover to process anything. Anything! She just knew that she felt happy because he was near.

"And… despite how embarrassing it was last night… " her eyebrows furrowed, "I suppose I should thank you for taking care of me."

"Oh that? Don't worry about it," he chuckled. "It happens a lot lately because of life getting a little weird and all. Everyone in camp knows - "

Severa blushed and dropped her jaw. "My parents were that loud?!"

"- And there's a period of adjustment and… at least you're not Owain," he said.

"Owain?" Severa asked him. "What happened to him?"

A flying staff hit Stahl on the head. "Ow! Lissa!"

"That's another family secret that you shouldn't know Severa!" Lissa screamed.

* * *

Risen attacked the nearest settlement in Carrion Isle and Chrom commanded his army to save the civilians. Robin decided to test Severa's mettle and added her to the ones who would go into battle.

"I cannot send her to her first battle alone. I shall go with her," Frederick said.

"Very well. Severa, you will be supported by your father at all times," Robin said. "Listen up Shepherds! Since we are low on arrows, we cannot trap the enemies in the ravine with archers. We will instead split the party in two and go for mobility. There are Risen archers out there so I cannot send our fliers, we'll have to settle with mounted cavalry and mages. Frederick will lead the east and Sully will lead the west." He then went into further detail of the battle plan. He sent out two more people to assist Frederick: Stahl and Miriel. And three to assist Sully: Libra, Owain, and Kellam. "Let's make this quick. We shall charge them. Onwards!"

They faced thirteen Risen enemies. There was a mix of cavaliers and archers and they were headed by a Great Knight. Frederick moved his party forward and Sully did the same. Some enemy cavaliers advanced towards them, followed by the Risen chief. Eager to prove herself, Severa fought recklessly with Frederick always following her from behind. She made her way from one enemy to the next, hacking at the horses to dismount the riders and stabbing the undead with her sword.

But fighting the Risen under an organized army was far more different than what she was accustomed to in her past. In her past, the only thing that they did was to hit the enemy and then run away. She sized up which of her enemies she can take down fast and hard. But after going through their defenses and using her short stature as an advantage to attack the mounts, she becomes careless.

Frederick was wounded in battle to shield Severa from the Great Knight. The enemy managed to get his lance through the Knight Commander's shoulder. Stahl entered the fray and thrust his sword through the Risen's chest, with Miriel assisting him with a spell effectively finishing the enemy.

Severa dropped down on her knees as she stared at her father's glaring shoulder wound.

Every single detail of her past overwhelmed her. Her father lay dying in front of her from multiple wounds with the Falchion in his hands just so he could deliver it to Lucina as his final act. Her mother knelt in front of him and told him to wake up. Then her mother gave up on her father, handed Severa her wedding ring, and left to go back to Chrom.

It got worse.

Right in front of her eyes, she saw how her father's corpse was haphazardly thrown in a mass grave following Grima's attack on Ylisstol.

She put her hands on her temples and screamed. A dome of darkness surrounded her and the only thing that the others can hear outside it was her screams.

"Fascinating," Miriel said as she adjusted her glasses. "She has the propensity for raw dark magic."

"What is going on?" the paladin asked.

"It is a manifestation of the trauma Severa has experienced from her history. What's happening is akin to a cat, in this case Severa, trapped in a box, which is the dome; with a toxin emitter, id est her trauma; an unstable material which is her dark magic and a counter which is her history. In this case Severa is both stable and unstable. To know if she is safe can only be determined by direct observation."

"How can I save her?"

"Consciousness causes collapse," Miriel said as she fixed her eyeglasses.

"Got it." Stahl immediately got off his horse. "Miriel, you know the drill," he said. Miriel nodded and attacked anything that came into view.

Stahl checked if the lance attack went through Frederick's shoulder. It didn't.

"Good defense Frederick," he said. He took out some tools his pack and cleansed Frederick's wound. He applied a vulnerary to it and wrapped the Knight Commander's shoulder with some bandages. He checked the Knight Commander for any favorable response and Frederick groaned. "Alright, you're good. Take it easy now," he said.

Frederick opened his eyes and saw the black dome where his daughter was supposed to be.

"She's a sitting duck in there," Stahl said. "Take her out of the dome."

"Daddy! Daddy!" she cried.

"Severa! Honey, I'm fine."

Severa didn't move from where she was. She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't see anything other than her father dying over and over again in front of her.

Stahl assisted Frederick to stand up and go to his daughter. Frederick knelt in front of the dome, put his hands inside it and tried to reach for Severa in the darkness. He wasn't able to pull her out. His face said that he was feeling hopelessness.

"Severa, listen to me. We are in the middle of battle and you have to get out of that dome and pick yourself up." Frederick waited for a positive response, but all he heard was her anguished cries.

"Incoming," Miriel said. She engaged the enemy with a spell with Stahl backing her up.

"Daddy! Daddy, don't leave me!" her sobbing was uncontrollable.

Stahl turned to Frederick and put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you remember Chrom's first kill?" he asked his superior.

"Yes, I do."

"It was like this but without the magic. Give me a moment. I know what to do. I'll take care of her," he said.

Frederick nodded and with a great deal of worry he said, "do as you see fit." He turned to the mage in their party. "Miriel, to me."

Stahl braved the darkness for Severa. He couldn't see a thing inside the dome but he had an idea on her general direction. He went on his knees and felt the ground for any sign of her. He found her ankle and his hands made their way to her shoulder. He felt her shaking under his grasp and he could hear her sporadic breathing.

He gently put his hands on hers, "I've got you," he said. He didn't take her hands off her head, _'she finds this comforting. Better let her do it.'_ He took off his gauntlets and gently closed her eyes with his thumbs. _'Consciousness causes collapse. I better make her feel conscious of her surroundings. Make her feel conscious that she's not alone.'_

Stahl wiped her tears away with the back of his hand and pressed his forehead against hers. It was important to make her feel physical contact. "Hello Severa, can you hear me?"

"W-who's there?"

"It's Stahl."

Tears flowed down her cheeks again. "Hey now, why are you crying?" he asked her calmly.

"Daddy's gone… he's gone…"

"Actually, he's perfectly fine!"

"No, you said his wounds wouldn't close anymore and Lissa's staff broke…"

His lips drew into a thin line. _'So that's how her Frederick died.'_ He put his hands back on top of hers and breathed deeply. "Listen, I understand it's hard to see that happening to your father, but he's tougher than that. He's got really good defenses and he's already out there fighting for you. You have to focus now and help him in the best way that you can. Let's fight those Risen with him."

"I wish to focus but I can't! I really can't! I can't forget it! I can't! I can't dammit!"

"And why is that?" His eyebrows furrowed. _'No, I'm losing her. Gotta calm her down fast.'_

"Everybody died! It will forever be lodged in my mind and will bug me 'till eternity. Forgetting isn't as easy as breathing! It will take time but I will be reminded of it, then the whole process of trying to forget starts all over again. No, I can't move on! I never will! I'm all alone! I'm all alone…"

Stahl saw her in a new light. _'Who knew you were so fragile?'_ He gently stroked her hair and put his fingers on her neck to feel her pulse. Her heart was still beating fast. "I'm not asking you to forget, just focus. Not on the battle, just focus on us. Right now it's just you and me and I'm asking you to stay here with me in the present, not in your past, not in the future. You are not alone, Severa, you have me. Focus on me," he said calmly.

"O-on you?"

"Yes, because I need you here. Forget the battle for a moment, and just be aware of you and me."

"O-okay."

"Yeah, forget about them now. Sometimes it helps to just unwind huh? So let's have a nice chat."

"About what?"

"Can you tell me what else you like other than stars?"

"I like cats."

"They're cute aren't they?" There was progress. Her pulse was slowing down.

"Uhuh. I had a cat once."

"I wish I had a cat. How about this, after this battle maybe I can get you one. Let's name her Selena. You know, because it has S and E at the start of its name and it ends with an A. It also has three syllables like your name. Who else would think that it somebody else's cat? Selena is all yours."

"I had a cat in the future. Her name was Serena," she answered.

' _Maybe I'll just let her think of the positive things from her future,'_ he thought. "That's cute! Tell me about her."

"You gave her to me when you fed her once and then she never left. I secretly fed her outside because daddy didn't want her in the house."

' _I gave her a cat?'_ he wondered. "Did she get fat?"

"Yes. Daddy noticed her and he was about to drive her away but I had to convince him to adopt her so we could get rid of mice."

"Heh, that is what cats do best. What did she look like?"

"She's like a tiny white lion."

"She's like you," Stahl chuckled, _'now misdirect!'_. "I dreamt of four gray cats last night. They were herding sheep and they did tricks."

"What kind of tricks?" Her pulse was getting slower.

"They went on top of each other like a pyramid."

"What? That's silly!"

"Yeah, but anything can be silly in a dream," he said. Severa calmed down and Stahl drew a sigh of relief. She opened her eyes and the darkness around them vanished. She saw how close he was to her. She gasped and he felt her pulse skip a beat.

Her hand on her heart, Severa suddenly drew away from him.

"Thank the gods! I think you are fine now. Let's go back to battle?" he deliberately turned his statement into a request. He stood up and extended his hand to her.

Severa reluctantly took it. "Y-yes, but only because…"

He saw that look on her face before. She was looking for an excuse not to admit what she really felt.

"… I have to show Robin that I'm capable in battle."

He saw that she was looking at her father worriedly. _'Severa, that's not even a good excuse.'_ Stahl smiled and helped her up. "You're right. I know, let's look for cats in the village after this battle." He put his gauntlets back on and headed into the fray with her.

* * *

Author's Notes: Science is magic, you can't tell me otherwise.


	5. Chapter 5

"I see that you need some practice on teamwork. On your own, you are pretty good, but working in a team is an entirely different matter. Severa, teamwork is important in our job. It can mean the difference between life and death. If your team hasn't been there, you would've died," Robin told the mercenary after the battle. The two of them stood outside of the med tent where Frederick got expert healing from Lissa.

"Well what did you expect? I came from a future where an individual's survival is the top priority. Don't expect me to have teamwork on my mind the moment that you recruited me. I'm a mercenary for crying out loud! I work for money and I'm sorry I'm not perfect like my mother! I'm sorry that she knows the ins and outs of how an army operates and I don't." Severa exclaimed.

"Yes, you are not your mother," Robin said, "but – "

Severa stomped her foot. "Yes I'm not her! So don't expect me to know teamwork like she does." She was about to attack Robin when Lissa's head popped out of the tent. "Hey! Frederick's fine now."

The mercenary stopped herself and went inside the tent to greet her father.

The tactician stopped her. "All I'm saying is that you should know how to work in a team. Maybe you should bond with your fellow soldiers and get to know them so you know how everyone fights," Robin said. "Know how they're feeling, exchange ideas, and so forth…"

"Maybe, that's what I was going to do today," she said.

"I just wanted you to hear me out."

"Whatever," Severa turned her back and harrumphed.

"Alright. Have fun then." Robin picked up his tome and hurried to his tent.

Severa entered and right off the bat she saw Stahl with the usual people inside. He stopped what he was doing and grinned at her. The memory of how close he was to her in the forest made her blush and she couldn't look him straight in the eyes. _'Why am I thinking of that now?'_ She made her way to her father instead.

Frederick sat on a chair and put his gear on properly. _'I'm sorry dad,'_ she thought. Why can't she just say it outright? "Hey!"

Frederick gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

"I think it's time for Daddy-Daughter Day!" It was the best that she can come up with without directly saying she's sorry. She truly wanted to spend time with him. _'I might not have another chance.'_

"Er… what? Why?" her father asked her.

"It's Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour all over again…" Tharja mumbled.

"Shh! Alliteration runs in the family," Ricken whispered.

"Oh no! She's really more of Frederick's daughter than Cordelia's," Stahl said.

Frederick and Severa glared at the people in the potions table. The three of them shut up and went back to work.

The mercenary took her father out of the tent and dragged him all the way to the stables. He asked her where they were going. "Into town! I spotted a whole line of shops with the CUTEST dresses…"

The Knight Commander didn't know what he was in for.

He and Severa visited shop after shop. She tried on everything that she could get her hands on: dresses that were short, dresses that were long, light ones, heavy ones, with sleeves and without. She never realized how much she missed shopping for clothes. The feel of the different fabrics in her hands was blissful. "I'm in heaven," she said. _'I never got to experience this after Grima attacked. Thank the gods for the little things.'_

She asked Frederick's opinion on everything that she put on and he just said, "that's nice".

Severa harrumphed. She wanted to hear something else other than those words.

"I said it was nice."

"If it's nice, then we're taking it all."

Frederick's look of impatience turned into a look of shock as Severa handed everything in her hands to the shopkeeper. "Four blouses, three skirts, and five dresses… that's one thousand gold pieces please."

Frederick reluctantly handed him the amount that was asked for. Severa grinned when she was handed the shopping bags. "Yay! Now, there's a few more shops that I wanted to visit –"

"Some other time, Severa. We've already visited eight shops today. There's always a next time," Frederick said.

"Alright, next time." Severa clung on to her father. "You know dad, back in my time, the three of us never spent much time together. You and mom were always with Chrom wherever he went and I was left alone."

"I'm sorry if that's the case. I promise that things will change."

The two of them headed back to camp and it was dinner when they arrived. Cordelia greeted them with hugs when the two of them entered Frederick's tent. "Welcome back!" Her eyes strayed to the shopping bags in Frederick's hands. "Goodness, you've never done anything like this for me Freddy. Looks like you two had a good time."

He gritted his teeth, "Severa apparently has a different aspect of my zeal. She's a very enthusiastic shopper."

Cordelia grinned at Severa, "it's strange to see Frederick's zeal for fitness get channeled into shopping."

"I am HIS daughter," she said. "Mom, look at what dad bought me!" She plopped down on a cot and excitedly opened one of the bags. She took out a pretty blue dress and showed it proudly to her mother.

"That's so pretty! You better wear it tonight," Cordelia said as she sat beside her daughter and looked at the other things that her husband bought. She can't help but giggle, "Wow, there are so many pretty things here. You two are so adorable." She planted a kiss on her daughter's head.

Frederick sighed and Severa blushed. Severa was about to open her mouth to say something scathing just so she could hide her embarrassment. She couldn't do it. She saw how happy her mother was and she was happy to spend the day with her father.

"Come Freddy, a girl has to primp and look her best. Severa, we'll be waiting outside and the three of us can go to the mess hall together." Cordelia put her arm around Frederick's waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "I really appreciate what you did for her. Thank you…" she said as they walked out of the tent.

For the first time in her life, Severa was glad that her parents left her alone. She couldn't let them see that she was truly happy. She has never seen them like that and it made her hope that at least in this timeline, her family would be whole.

"But I know how it will end…" she banished her thoughts away for the time being. Severa fixed up and joined her parents.

* * *

That night, she decided to finally set up her tent. "Let's see now, stake the ends first…" she said as she hammered the stakes to the ground. She recalled the thing that Stahl picked up next on her first night in camp. "Okay, now the poles." She didn't know what to do with it. She looked around camp and observed how the tents looked like. They looked like huge letter A's that you could live in and it seemed like they were easy to set up. "Okay, pole at the center," she said as she drove the pole to the ground.

In a minute the tent pole leaned to the right and fell completely. "Jeez!" she exclaimed.

"Need a hand?"

She looked up to see Stahl smiling at her. It was normally after dinner that he took his armor off. _'Damn, I'm noticing his habits. I feel like a stalker.'_

"Why do you keep popping up?" Severa asked. Her hands went to her hips and she pouted.

"I was on my way to my tent when I saw you struggling with that," he answered.

"No. Really. Why are you everywhere?"

"Because we are in the same army and the camp is small? Would you like me to help you?"

 _S_ he pouted. "No, I can do this."

"Okay, I'll be here just in case," he said.

She drove the pole to the ground again and it went down. Stahl caught the pole before it completely fell. He looked at Severa and grinned goofily.

"Fine! I will get your help but only because you offered and Robin told me to interact with people," She shoved the tent pole in his hands.

"Okay, I'll do this but only for tonight. You have to watch carefully so you know how to do it next time," he said. He drove the tent pole to the ground and twisted it. "See, it has to be secure." He handed her the other pole, "try it on that side."

She copied how he did it and she got it correctly. There was a smug look on her face that made him look flustered.

"Good. There's nothing to it really, it's just like making blanket forts," he said as he handed her the rope. She accidentally touched his hand and she looked away so he couldn't see her blushing.

"What's a blanket fort?"

"What? You've never made a blanket fort before?" he asked incredulously.

"I didn't really have anybody to play with back then. Sure, I knew other kids but people normally avoid me…"

"I think that they just don't understand you," he said. "Well, it's never too late to be a kid. When we get back to Ylisstol, I will take you to Southtown and see my nieces. They're really great with making blanket forts! Then we'll have ham and whatever it is that my brother wants me to cook."

Severa's face reddened. _'Did he just ask me to meet his family?'_

"Anyway, blanket forts are the coziest things in the world. It's full of pillows, and dreams, and fluffs, and stuff!"

She smiled and then her smile turned into laughter. He looked so excited when he talked about it that it was painfully ridiculous. It was also painfully cute. "What? Are you for real? You are such a dork!"

Stahl chuckled and scratched the back of his head. He looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes and a quirky smile. "At least it made you laugh, so it's a good thing. I think no one in camp has ever heard you laugh before."

It was her reflex to slap his arm and hide her face from him. "D-dummy!" A huge part of her wanted to tease him more just to see that expression a little longer. "Y-you should be grateful that you're the first one who heard it!"

"It's true! I don't think anyone here has ever heard you laugh before."

"I-it's none of your business," she said.

He handed her the ridgepole and taught her how to attach assemble the rest of the tent. "It's easier if you sing while you're working.

" _This is my tent!  
It's shaped like an A.  
I can hardly fit in it,  
but that's okay!  
_ _I can see your eyes roll!  
Lalalalala…"_

He sang as he threw the canvas over the ridgepole.

"Did you just… did you just sing about me rolling my eyes?!" Severa looked at him in disbelief.

"Uhuh," Stahl bit his lip and squinted. "I sing to myself a lot," he said sheepishly.

She stared at him and his sad puppy dog eyes resurfaced. "Oh. Oh gods!" Severa laughed again.

"I have no dignity left," he said as he shook his head.

Severa slapped his arm several times, "that's… jeez Stahl, you are the biggest dork in the world! You should have this huge banner with 'dork' written on it and wave it when you ride into battle!" She grabbed his arm so she wouldn't fall to the ground as she laughed. "And people will start calling you The Dork Knight."

"So mean…" he mumbled. But he stood in front of her with a smile playing on his lips.

"Wh-why are you smiling?"

"It's nothing. I just noticed that this is the happiest you've been ever since you joined us."

' _He noticed…'_ She harrumphed."I laughed because I was laughing at you and not because I'm happy!" Severa exclaimed.

Stahl shrugged, "At least I made you laugh twice." He smiled at her and Severa felt her heart skip a beat. "Let's finish setting this up." The two of them worked together to finish Severa's tent. They admired their handiwork once they were done.

"You did a good job with the tent by the way. Congratulations!" he grinned goofily at her. He took out a corn muffin from his snack pack that he lugged everywhere he went and offered it to Severa.

"Is this a reward?"

"Of sorts."

Severa took a bite out of the muffin. "This is good. Did you make this?"

"Nah, Gaius did. I have other snacks if you want some more," he said.

"Y-yes, but only because we're rewarding ourselves after a job well done." She was making excuses for him to stay longer with her.

He sat down on the ground and opened his snack pack. She saw a variety of muffins, cookies and other snacks that produced crumbs.

She took out a chocolate chip cookie and took a bite out of it. She almost choked on the confection's sweetness level. " _*Hack*!_ It's too sweet!"

Stahl handed her his waterskin, "it's not the first time that he used too much sugar. We did tell him that two cups is too much."

Severa stared intently at the waterskin. _'This is his. He handed me his own waterskin. His own waterskin.'_ She felt her face getting hotter as she drew the waterskin to her lips.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Y-yes," she said. She drank from his waterskin and immediately gave it to him when she had her fill. _'That's the most intense drink that I've ever had… what the hell am I thinking? I just had an indirect kiss with him! Ohgodsohgodsohgods!'_

He took a cookie too and peered at it, "if you squint hard, this cookie has a tiny dog's face." Stahl held the cookie in front of her so she can see it.

"It does!"

"Goodbye doggie face," he said, then he ate the thing whole. "Sorry I wasn't able to take you cat watching today. We were supposed to look for cats that looked like your Serena. You seemed to be happy with your family so I didn't intrude," he said.

"There's always the next town. We'll be leaving for Port Ferox tomorrow and there's bound to be cats there," she said.

"Yup. It seems like something is bothering you though." He didn't look like he would go away if she just dismissed him. She might as well tell him.

"I know how this time traveling thing works. Right now we're happy, but once fate catches up… Once their true daughter is born, then I will - "

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, but there is nothing for you to worry about," he said. He moved closer to her and patted her back. "I'm pretty sure Frederick and Cordelia loves you as much as they will love the… er… other you. Gosh, talking about time traveling can be weird, am I right?"

"Exactly."

"Well, I've seen them lately and like you, they seem to be happier with each other. Your being here brought them closer together somehow. You don't need further proof other than that night - "

Severa hit the back of his head.

" – Ow! What you need to know is that you are loved and you have made one very important point yourself."

"And what is that?"

"You said that you are happy," he grinned goofily.

Severa looked away from him, "S-shut up!" She stood up and put some of her belongings inside the tent.

"Oh yeah, you haven't seen this era's Ylisstol or Southtown yet." he said to change the subject.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, I'll give you a tour. Ylisstol is grand! Now your father's fiefdom is really pretty too and I'm glad I grew up there." He said as he picked himself up and dusted his pants.

' _Did he just ask me out on a date?!'_ She turned around and looked at his innocent face.

"What's the matter? You have been red for quite a while now. Are you feeling okay? I'm going to give you a tonic if you need one."

"I-it's nothing. It's just the campfire," she said.

"Perhaps you are just tired from today's events. Well, goodnight. See you tomorrow," he said. Stahl waved his hand and left her alone.

Severa nodded and hurriedly went inside her tent. She hugged her pillow and used it to muffle her squeal from the rest of the camp. The sound of her heart pounded in her ears as she closed her eyes and recalled how he noticed the tiny things that she did. _'He notices me,'_ she thought. _'He NOTICES me.'_

* * *

Author's notes: I can't imagine Severa being anybody other than Frederick's daughter. Just look at the similarities between her and Frederick: they're tough on the outside but are marshmallows inside, they have a certain kind of zeal for training and shopping, the alliteration, their overreactions, the cynicism, etc, etc… Severa's strategic mind is a different matter though.


	6. Chapter 6

The ship that the Shepherds rode travelled from Carrion Isle to Port Ferox for a day and a half. Chrom and Lucina enjoyed riding it while some of the shepherds hated it. As they neared the port, Stahl went to the deck to look at the seagulls. Severa followed him there and she chastised his silliness.

"Do you know what day it is today?" He asked her.

"Wednesday?"

"No, it's conveniently Caturday!"

He felt her familiar slap on his arm that indicated he did or said something silly. She rolled her eyes, "that just further proves how silly you are."

"Every day that a cat is involved is effectively Caturday," he added. "Aren't we supposed to look for cats here?"

Severa's expression changed from annoyance to excitement, "oh yeah, finally you're keeping your promise!" It was priceless to see that face.

The ship landed on Port Ferox and Robin made the necessary arrangements for lodging once he stepped on dry land. Frederick, with Sully's assistance, took care of unloading the horses and supplies. And once everybody has settled down, Robin declared a day off. Severa looked for Stahl. She found him sitting at the docks with his feet in the water and his head up in the clouds. "You're looking at the sky again?" she asked.

"Yes. Sometimes it's cloudy, sometimes it's sunny. It has so many faces that I never tire of it no matter how often I watch it," he answered. The paladin took his feet out of the water, patted them dry and put on his shoes. "Ready for Caturday?"

"Yes."

The two of them walked down the streets of Port Ferox, looking for cats. Cats were everywhere as expected for a port town, but they were looking for the unusual ones. She tugged at his sleeves, "look!" she pointed at a calico cat with a stumpy bunny tail who sat beside a fisherman. "That's the first cat. He looks like a Mike to me."

"I think it's a girl, she has a pretty cat face. Let's see, I would name her Paprika because her spots remind me of the spices used in Cajun food."

They found a cat that looked like it wore a gray tuxedo and a red collar. "That's Buchi!" Severa exclaimed.

"Spring roll!" Stahl countered, "he looks like a spring roll to me."

"A what?"

"If you think about it, he's a white cat with a gray wrapping, like a spring roll."

"No, no, no. That's definitely a cat wearing a tux."

An orange tabby was called "Toyger" by Severa and "Ginger" by Stahl. A black and white spotted one was "Mr. Raindrop" and "Raisin" until Stahl changed his mind and called it "Cow Cat" because it reminded him of black and white spotted cows. A solid white one got the consensual name of "Milk Chocolate" whereas a solid black cat was called "Gerome" and "Midnight". The grinning cream colored cat that they saw lounging on a windowsill was called "Alice" and "Cheese" and an old one-eyed three-legged cat had the unfortunate names of "Monstah" and "Basilio".

He noticed that she hooked her arm onto his while they walked around looking for cats. A smirk appeared on his lips, Severa was comfortable enough with him to do that.

The cat hunting got them into several parts of the town where they found the other Shepherds doing some shopping. They bumped into Panne with a bag of carrots in her hands.

"Panne."

"Stahl."

"That's a lot of carrots you have there with you. W-would you like some help with your bags?" he asked her. He felt his knees shake and he couldn't look her straight in the eyes.

"No. Leave me man-spawn," she said.

"O-okay, but just in case you need help, all you have to do is call me."

The taguel raised an eyebrow and left without even saying goodbye. _'Two years and I'm still a mess around her,'_ he thought.

After Panne left them, they saw Olivia and Lucina looking at clothes from a store in a distance. The paladin didn't realize that his steps led to the princess and the queen. He was brought back to reality when he felt Severa slap his arm and tug at his sleeve. "I told you to get over her," she said.

"But, I always help people in need and it looked like they needed it."

"They don't need it Stahl. They don't even have any bags with them. Are you sure you want to help THEM, not just because you saw Olivia?"

He felt flustered. It was a strange feeling for him whenever other people figure him out. The look on her face suggested that she demanded answers from him and he wanted to run away from the confrontation. His hesitation and slight movement to turn his face away from her was stopped by Severa's grip on his arm.

"Yes and no actually," he answered. "Sure, I wanted to help her out but my reason for doing so is not because we had a history."

"Then what is?"

His eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps it was time he told somebody why. "You might find it lame, but there's a particular reason why I help people." He scratched his nose and looked sheepishly at her. "Do you have the time to listen to me?"

"No, I don't have the time, but I'll listen to your sob story not because I want to. It's not like I have anything to do anyway and I'm doing you a favor so you better be grateful."

It was one of the most contradicting sentences that he has ever heard in his entire life. _'I thought that you didn't have the time, but you're not doing anything? What is it really, Severa?'_ he gazed into her eyes and she looked away. "You're doing me a favor?" he asked, focusing on that instead.

"Yes. For h-helping me out in Carrion Isle."

"Oh that." Stahl felt his cheeks burn. There was something about that event that made him feel strange. "I-I see," he said. "I have to confess, I wasn't originally this helpful. I did the average amount of work for everything until I understood your father's work ethics," he said to get back on the topic.

"My father?"

"It's a long story. If you don't mind, can we go somewhere a little private?"

Severa nodded. He took her back to the docks, where they sat on the wall that made the breakwater. The sound of the crashing waves against the massive rocks was enough to conceal most of their conversation to a passerby, but loud enough for the two of them to hear.

"I was raised in a medical family. My father ran an apothecary and my mother was a doctor. A plague hit our town and the people naturally looked to us for help. It was the busiest time of my childhood since my parents worked so hard, and my brother and I assisted them." A look at her face said that she waited for him to go on.

"Because of being in contact with their patients for so long, they contracted the plague. I was ready to curse the gods at that time, but my mother kept telling me that it won't do to get mad at something you can't see and I should always do something to alleviate somebody else's suffering. A week later, my father recovered but my mother died. Before she went away, she told me to always do good no matter what.

"Then your father personally came to our apothecary a year later to recruit me and my brother. He convinced my family that being part of the Shepherds would bring our family honor as we would be doing good work under the prince. My father couldn't let my brother go since he will inherit the apothecary, and as a second son, I got the short end of things. I had to go with Frederick partly because we are living as freemen in his fiefdom, and we were afraid of what he would do if I didn't join him. My father also told me about the opportunities being in the army would bring.

"Frederick is actually kind, despite what people say. He taught me many things, well the same things as Chrom anyway. He taught me how to be a proper knight, how to be a gentleman, the right kind of discipline… But the most important one is the core of chivalry was the spirit of service. It was the consideration of others and the willingness to assist. It was not so different from what my family was already doing. It also coincided with my mother's last words about being good. At least my fifteen year old self made the connection. You might think it's lame, but that's the reason why I always try to help everyone out…" He looked for the telltale signs of eye-rolling and impatience on her face but there was none. She looked like she really listened to everything that he told her and it made him anxious.

"I don't think it's lame." Her expression when she said that evoked the truth. There was a surprising amount of sincerity in her words and he hoped that she could see the look of appreciation in his eyes.

"That's surprising," he said. "I guess it's because I talked about your father, that's why."

"But it is true. My father is a great man," she said proudly. "But is that why you're a self-sacrificing dummy?"

"Y-you can put it that way." That was the reaction he was waiting for.

"It's not fair to you," she said as she raised an eyebrow and pouted.

"I'm aware of that. I will still help people when they're in need," he said with conviction.

"You are an idiot, Stahl!" She raised her hands in the air and stood up from her seat. "Ugh! I knew listening to you would be bad. Everything about you is normal! Even your sob story is normal." She looked annoyed with him and a part of him was terribly hurt when she said those words.

Severa was mean. Why did he think that there was something kind in her? _'Maybe it's just my imagination,'_ he thought. "Sorry," he found that he apologized for being himself. This is what he got for opening up to someone.

She paced back and forth and then she turned to face him with her hands on her hips. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I know this is unusual for a mercenary but - " she suddenly knelt in front of him.

"Severa what are you doing?!" He grabbed her hands and tried to let her stand up.

"Shut up! Let me do this! I can't believe I'm doing this for an idiot. I can't believe I'm swearing fealty to you!" She squeezed his hands really hard.

"W-w-w-wait, what?! You can't swear fealty to me! You should be doing this to Chrom or your father. True, I am a knight captain now, but Chrom and your father takes precedence!"

"Just let me do this okay? In another life, you might've been a prince and a mighty good one. Thus, I swear to protect you from your own ignorance and naïvete, and to protect you from the people who are using your kindness for their own benefit."

He was flustered, "that's kind of insulting."

"But it's the truth! And I swear, people take advantage of your kindness because of your stupid idealism!"

"F-fine! You are hereby my first knight. Just get up because people are starting to look at us funny." He helped her up and she went back to her original seat. There was a pout on her face but it was mixed with a crooked smile. It was an endearing expression that was unique to her.

"Alright, as your first knight and advisor, I want you to help everybody who REALLY needs it, but you should ALWAYS leave Olivia alone," she said.

"What if we're in battle?" he asked.

"She has a husband and capable children who can help her."

"You're right…"

"Seriously though. Forget about Olivia. If you don't want to do it for yourself, then do it for somebody else. Do it for Chrom and his kids. Heck, do it for m-me because I told you to!"

"Severa, forgetting is not as easy as breathing," he said, recalling her words. "I've been trying to do it for the past two years." Stahl knew that his heart was still fragile from the heartbreak. "I think I would never heal from it.

Severa slapped his arm to get him back to reality. "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of magic-less healer? Go heal yourself Stahl!"

He looked away from her to look at the orange cloudy sky. _'I wasn't wrong. She's a marshmallow underneath that tough cookie. And she's strange. She's so strange.'_ He looked at her face and the concern etched in there was replaced with a melancholic pleading. The sky cleared as the sun set. "Yes, I will Severa. Thanks for listening to me. It's refreshing to share secrets with you."

She looked at him smugly.

He scratched the back of his head, "let's head back to the inn. Your father might get mad if we're not there before dark." He smiled as he walked with her, _'you're such a strange girl.'_

* * *

"Stahl, slow down a little," Cordelia said. The Shepherds were on their way to Valm to do a counter-invasion against Emperor Walhart. They were going to be months at sea and Robin told them to treat this opportunity like a vacation. Stahl took it as an opportunity to continue his harp lessons.

"Let's see… eighth C, eighth A, quarter F, eighth F, eight A…" Stahl mumbled as he counted the notes on his music sheet. "You're right, it's not that fast."

"Correct," Maribelle said, "Now listen well." She played the melody for the measure that Stahl messed up. "Slowly, but not too slowly. This song is not a march, so treat it like the lady that you love. From the first measure, remember it's 3/4, and go." She snapped her fingers.

The three of them had a small band that played classical and folk music. At first it was just Stahl and Cordelia, but Maribelle joined when she heard that other people in the army were interested in music too.

He played the notes on his harp under the scrutiny of two music teachers. The song he played became dissonant and suddenly became a dirge when Olivia crossed his mind.

"Okay, this is supposed to be a happy love song. Why is it suddenly so sad?" Cordelia asked. "You still have this habit of interpreting songs in a different way."

"I kind of like it," Maribelle said. "It was supposed to be a lilting _'I will see you again'_ piece but now it's _'I will never see you again'_. I like it, so I will rearrange this piece based on your interpretation." She wrote some notes on her music sheet and played Stahl's interpretation on her violin. Cordelia joined in even if her harp could be hardly heard.

When they were finished for the day's practice, Maribelle prepared tea and Stahl produced madeleines from his snack pack. He stared at nothing glumly when he Cordelia put a hand on his shoulder. "Something is bothering you," she said.

Stahl tilted his head and smiled. "You don't have to worry about me," he said.

"Something is up and it's obvious with your music, the deep sighs, and the way you're acting."

Maribelle nodded. "Have some tea to relax first and then tell us what's bothering you. It affects your music and as your teacher, I cannot abide that."

He has known those two for some time and decided t tell them what's weighing on his head. "I found out that I will die alone in the future."

"You? Alone? I find that impossible," Maribelle said. "Well, Chrom said that anything can change. Maybe you can change the future and get someone else to love so you won't die alone. Lucina did say that her generation went back in the past to change things, what if those who were born in the present can change things too?"

"What do you mean by someone else to love?" Cordelia asked.

"Darling, that is a secret between me and Stahl," she winked at the paladin. "And you are focusing on the wrong things."

Stahl winked back at her. "Here's the thing. I happen to have foreknowledge of who will end up with whom. I think it's just wrong if I will break up a predestined couple just so I will not be forever alone."

"Where did you get that information?" Cordelia asked him.

"S-Severa," he answered. He didn't know why it felt weird for him to tell her that. _'Maybe it's because Cordelia is her mother and I don't know how she would react if she finds out that I've been hanging out with her daughter a lot.'_

"Is there someone in particular that you fancy?" Cordelia asked.

"Bar that one Stahl," Maribelle reminded him. "She's taken."

"Um… I'm kind of interested in this woman," he said. Severa's pouting face and her reprimanding tone flashed in his mind. _'Forget Olivia!'_ He cleared his throat and felt his heart race. He felt awkward telling two women about his former crush. "She's smart, strong, and beautiful… she's kind of lonely but she's not interested in me. I tried wooing her a few years ago, but I kinda messed it up somehow," he answered. "I'm scared that if I pursue her again, she'll just reject me." He felt sweat forming on his brow. _'Am I too old to have crushes? Ah well, love is love.'_

"Strong, like physically strong? Hmm…" Cordelia put a finger on her chin and looked at his flustered face. "Let's see… So we have Sully, Panne, Nowi, Anna, and Cherche who are close to your description. But you said smart, so let's take away Nowi. You said kind of lonely. Cherche and Anna are playful and Sully is… Sully. So it's Panne?!"

"I-it's Panne," he answered.

Maribelle and Cordelia exchanged looks.

"What is so surprising about that?" Stahl asked her.

"She is an extraordinarily exotic woman," Cordelia said.

"I guess it's highly unlikely that we'll be together because she's out of my league. She's hot, like a woman with experience, hot. And she's so extraordinary and I'm so bland. And – "

"And you're making excuses," Cordelia told him. "Stahl, I didn't know you were into older women."

"It doesn't look like I have a chance with her anyway. In the future, she will end up with Gregor," Stahl said.

Maribelle wagged her finger. "But Gregor hasn't begun courting her, whereas you have. Like Cordelia said, it's not wrong if there was no relationship to begin with. You have a higher chance of getting together than he does because you already spent time with her. And you are far cuter than Gregor, darling."

Stahl blushed. "I… uh. Thanks, I guess. But here's the thing, I promised on my knight's honor that I will not interfere or set people up. If I do that, then I'm breaking my promise," he said. "What good is my being a knight if I break a vow?"

"Think about it this way. Anything can change, right? If Lissa married Libra, then you can end up with Panne," Maribelle said. "You are a man first, then a knight second."

"Hmm… it's not a good idea to interfere if you made a promise," Cordelia said. She's a knight too and she knew the importance of oaths.

"I'm glad that you see where my dilemma is coming from," he told Cordelia.

"But look at it from a different perspective. What if this vow that you made was the thing that caused your loneliness in the first place? To interfere is to stand in the way of something that was already there. I don't think it's wrong if there are no relationships to begin with," Cordelia said. "Before others take the girl away from you, I think you should make a move. It's my biggest regret, you know. I was too slow in making my move, so Robin arranged Olivia's political marriage to Chrom. In this context, take 'interfere' as 'breaking someone up'. So your promise is now 'I will not break someone up or set someone up'."

"I-I see. I think you're right. So how should I go about this?" Yet he still felt a little uneasy.

"What do you two have in common?" Maribelle asked.

"Food. She's the fastest at wolfing down a meal and I'm the most eager to clean a plate. But she hates how I cook. One time I made her Hasselback potatoes. It's got butter and parmesan cheese between the ridges of a sliced up potato and sour cream with bits of parsley on top. I sliced them really thin! I used Chrom's sword and everything and she just spit it out. And you know what she liked? She liked Robin's carrot stew."

Maribelle and Cordelia looked at him incredulously. "Chrom's sword?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah. So maybe I'll try another recipe for her. What do bunnies like?"

"Er, carrots. They like carrots," Maribelle said. 'How did he manage to use Chrom's sword?' she whispered to Cordelia.

'I don't know. I saw Inigo use it to slice apples once,' Cordelia said, 'so is he Falchion's chosen too? I have questions.'

'Me too.'

"Carrots huh? Maybe I'll make her dumplings," he said to himself as he thought of various recipes to make for Panne.


	7. Chapter 7

The army landed on Valm Harbor where they met Princess Say'ri of Chon'sin and learned about the recent events in the continent. While everybody else was concerned about the counter-invasion, Severa, Morgan and Cynthia were excited to see what the new continent had to offer.

Inigo and Owain didn't care much for it, since they landed in Valm after they leapt through time. Lucina had been in Valm before, albeit in a roundabout way, when she helped rescue her brother and her cousin. There were questions about why they didn't directly tackle the war, so Robin had to explain to them that they were 'scouting' and 'investigating' and to leave it at that.

After the battle and recruiting the princess, the Sheperds moved to the Sage's Hamlet and use it as their base of operations because of Owain's connection with them.

Severa looked for her parents when the army has settled down. She found them in the mess hall sharing a dessert and chatting over silly things. They looked sweet and all, but she had something important on her mind. Getting a chair from a nearby table, Severa sat between them and gave her father the sweetest smile she could muster.

"I'd just looove to go on another shopping spree with you!" she told Frederick as she put her head on his shoulder. "I spotted the most precious little accessory shop in a town near here the other day!'

"Sorry, pumpkin, but no." Frederick flat out refused.

"What?!" She recoiled with surprise. They argued back and forth about her materialistic nature while Cordelia watched them silently.

"Now, look. I'm not saying I won't buy you anything ever..." Frederick said.

"Oooooh, you're not?" she asked as she smiled sweetly. There's hope for her yet.

"I'm just saying you'll have to earn it. If you help out around camp with chores and such, I'll treat you to something nice."

"EXCUSE me?" The smile on her face disappeared. "What is this—" she said as Frederick handed her a gold coin. "My allowance?!"

Frederick nodded.

"I'm not a child!"

Cordelia tried to hide her laughter but she failed horribly.

"No? Then stop acting like one," he said. "This is for your own good, Severa. A little hardship in one's youth builds character."

"I dealt with a LOT more than hardship back in the future, thank you!" she slammed her hand on the table. Severa couldn't believe the nerve of her father!

Frederick slammed his fist on the table. "Well, my decision is final. I won't continue to just buy you whatever you like. If there's something you want, you'll have to work for it."

No matter which world he was in, Frederick was ever the disciplinarian. "FINE!" she glared at her father and Frederick glared back at her. "Whatever… I'll do your stupid chores. But I expect some SERIOUS returns, is that clear?"

He did not promise anything. Both father and daughter folded their arms at the same time. Cordelia stopped the fight from escalating by giving both of them kisses on the cheek and ruffling their hair. "I'm sorry honey, but this time I am siding with your father. We haven't recovered the funds from your shopping trip last time. I hope you understand."

Cordelia was right of course. No money means no shopping. Severa sighed and her father took it as an opportunity to mete out justice. "The first order of business is to split firewood," Frederick said.

"Chop firewood? That is something boys do!" She whined.

"Everybody carries their weight in this army regardless of status and gender. It will give you a grasp on how to handle an axe in case you decide to use it as a weapon."

"I don't want to!"

"It's this or nothing."

The call of accessories was too much for her. "Ugh! Tell me where I can do that stupid chore!"

The two of them headed out of the mess hall and into the supply convoy. Frederick handed his daughter a maul and taught her how to properly hold the tool. "There's a clearing near the stream that the sages set up for chores. You will split firewood there for an hour."

Severa grumbled as she headed to the clearing. As she neared the spot, the sound of somebody grunting and the repeated thwacks of axes could be heard. She braced herself. _'I hate weird noises. Gods, please let those weird noises be innocent! Please let it be really just somebody chopping firewood. I don't want to walk-in on someone. Nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope!'_

She took that one brave step towards the clearing and she cringed when she was rooted to her spot and stared at the display in front of her. _'What are the frigging odds?!'_ She wondered if her luck was high or low because she kept getting herself in situations like these.

Stahl and Vaike were splitting wood. The paladin didn't have his armor on and his sleeves were rolled up his arms. Vaike was shirtless as always and there was nothing new about him to look at. He looked so insignificant to her that Severa's eyes focused only on the paladin.

She watched as Stahl wiped his brow with the back of his hand and take off his shirt. The very action of it stirred something in her core. She looked at the scars on his finely sculpted body and she loved how they enhanced how manly he looked. His muscles involuntarily flexed when he lifted his axe and brought it down on the block of wood. He stopped what he was doing to pick up a bucket of water from the stream and poured it over his head. The splash of cold water made him sigh in relief as he ran his fingers through his hair. For a moment, she saw what he looked like with his hair tamed into place and he was undoubtedly handsome, until he ruined that moment by shaking his head and his hair went into every direction it wanted.

Severa looked at how the glistening beads of water travelled down his abs and she swore that she literally saw steam coming out of his body. She imagined him riding half-naked on his horse … _'I don't think I ever truly appreciated cold water on a hot man…'_

"Heya Severa! Is my shift done? Ol' Teach needs his replacement. It's getting hot in here and I'm hungry," Vaike said.

"I-i-i-it's getting h-hot - "

"Hey, whadja bitin' your lip for?"

Severa gasped. She immediately looked away from Stahl to glare at Vaike.

"S-severa? What are you doing here?" Stahl blushed. He held the bucket in his hands while trying to hide behind it.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" She pointed at Stahl.

"I-I'm splitting firewood," he stammered.

"No, I'm supposed to be the one chopping firewood!"

"Uh, I um, I er… uh…" He couldn't even make a complete sentence.

"It's not like I wanted to be here to stare at you or something," she said as her face went redder. "W-why are you stuttering?"

"Why is he stuttering? Why are you stuttering?" Vaike asked her.

"I-I was just surprised when I saw y-you standing there," he said. He looked like a lost little dog, "and well… I-I'm ashamed of my body s-so… I'm stuttering."

"Shut. Up. Those are serious abs. Have you been hiding those all along?" She cringed. _'Did I just say that out loud? Oh crap! Gods, those muscles make so much sense! His armor chiseled his abs… Wait, what? He's ashamed of his body?'_

"What about the Vaike? How about these abs?"

"Shut up Vaike! You're always shirtless," Severa answered, "and you're just fishing for compliments."

"Uh… this is making me uncomfortable," Stahl said as he rubbed his nape.

"This is making you uncomfortable? This is making ME uncomfortable!" Vaike chimed in.

"This is making ME uncomfortable!" Severa shouted. "I was supposed to chop wood alone because my father told me to, and then here you are s-s-shhh… YOU ARE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE!" she pointed at Stahl.

"Huh? What am I doing on purpose?" he asked.

"Y-you being sh-shirtless and… uhm… and that thingy… with the sun, and the water and, and your… your… those things on your uh… your uh…"

"Thingy?" Vaike chuckled.

"Yeah that, that thing. GAWDS! I'm uh, pretty guy – pretty good – pretty, pretty SURE that you set this whole thing up!" she exclaimed.

"This clearing? It was here before we got here. The sages set it up," Stahl answered.

Vaike looked at both of them. "Oh…kay…" he raised his hands in the air. "Whatever this is – " he pointed at them " – it's weird." He grabbed the bucket from Stahl and used it to pour water on himself. He slapped Stahl's back and shoved the bucket back in his hands. "See ya, Stahllion." He put his elbow on Severa's shoulder and clucked his tongue. "Good luck," he said as he left Stahl and Severa alone in the clearing.

She stared at Stahl's half-naked body and how the tiny beads of sweat on his chest made him look more appealing to her.

"S-severa? Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my chest?" he asked.

"No! No, I just need to do my chores," she answered. _'Oh. My. Gosh.'_ Her heart raced fast in her chest, _'why are you like this Stahl?'_

He scratched his head. "Okay then. By all means, let's split wood together."

' _Why did that sound dirtier in my head?'_ She covered her mouth with her hand and squinted hard. "Put a shirt on will you?!"

Stahl picked up his shirt from the ground and put it back on. He picked up his axe and proceeded to split more wood. Every effort that he made turned into a grunt, and every grunt that he made turned her into one hot mess.

"W-why is it that whenever I turn around, I always see you doing chores?" she asked him.

"I volunteer a lot," he said as he hacked at another piece of wood. "Take your place on Vaike's stump. Be careful with Cookie, okay?"

Severa stood in front of the stump where Vaike previously stood. "I've never chopped wood before. We normally just picked up twigs and stuff for campfires in the future," she said.

"Well, it's different here because we are in a fully functioning army and wood is sorely needed for campfires and cooking. Would you like me to teach you how to split wood?"

"Like I have a choice in the matter," she said.

"Okay. I can only instruct you verbally so better pay attention. I cannot go behind you and show you the proper way to do it."

"W-why would you need to do that?" She imagined his arms around her and his hands on hers so they could chop firewood together.

"I don't want to die," he answered. "So watch me instead. This is how - "

Her eyes glazed as he talked and she watched his body move instead.

" – got it?" he asked.

"Hm? Okay, got it." She raised her axe to strike and it got stuck on her block of wood. She decided to cheat and hit the wood against the block. The piece of wood dislodged in midair and hit Stahl's horse straight on the neck. The horse neighed and raised his hooves, ready to trample down anything in its path.

"Cookie!" In two leaps, Stahl pushed her away from Cookie's rampage. He got hold of the reins and calmed his horse down. "Sshhh… sshhh… it's okay boy, it's okay…" He pressed his forehead to Cookie's neck and rubbed the stallion's nose. He led his horse to a safer distance and tethered him to a tree.

He found her picking up the wood he's split and stacking them neatly on the cart. "Ugh! I hate this." She exclaimed. "You know what? You were doing this whole thing in the first place. Why don't cha just do all of the chopping?"

"But your chores!"

"Yeah? So? I'll do the minor things, like hand you the next pile of wood, stack the wood on the cart, p-pour water on you… That's doing something, right?"

"But if Frederick finds out that you didn't really split all of this wood?"

She scowled at him. "I almost killed Cookie," she said. "I'm not cut out for this."

"No, I was worried that Cookie almost killed you," he corrected her. "I tied him there in case something like that happened again, he won't be spooked so easily." He rubbed his nape again. "I wouldn't know what I'd do if something happened to you," he said.

Severa blushed. She stopped stacking the firewood and wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of her hand. "There! I didn't do this because I'm thankful or anything, it's just that sweat annoys me. Hmph!"

"That's very sweet. Thank you," he said.

She slapped his arm she flushed when she felt how hard his muscles were.

"I'll agree to the compromise so I'll split the wood and you'll do the other things. Okay?"

"Uh, yeah, whatever."

He continued splitting more firewood for thirty more minutes. She sat on the cart grinning to herself as she watched him until he requested for water.

"W-water?"

"Yes please."

She was annoyed at how innocently he requested for it. She took a bucketful of water and her hands shook as she held it. Stahl covered her hands with his to steady her. "You seem tired from today's work. Thanks for helping out," he said as he took the bucket from her. He poured water all over him and splashed her a bit in the process. "Sorry," he said as he wiped some beads off her cheek.

"My shift is over now. I'm going to attach Cookie back to the cart and deliver the firewood to camp. Do you want to join me?"

She nodded, "Like I can do anything else!" she said.

"The funny thing is, in Roseanne, a man and a woman going into the woods to gather firewood indicates romantic interest," he laughed out loud. "It had something to do with 'igniting the fires of passion' in a young girl's heart! I told Cherche that I think it makes for a weird first date."

"Cherche? Are you two dating?" she asked bitterly.

"Oh no! We just happened to do a lot of chores together because I'm always volunteering and she's very domestic. She told me all about that firewood custom when I asked her to gather some wood with me. Oh… We are near Roseanne. I wonder if the villages around here have the same customs? Then would that mean… did w-we just have a weird first date?"

"S-shut up! This is a chore okay? A chore!" She slapped his arm.

* * *

"Who's a nice clean horsie? Yes you are! Oh yes you are!" Stahl said as he groomed his destrier from head to toe. Cookie snorted and flicked his tail. "Okay Cookie, you reminded me of someone when you did that," he stopped brushing his horse and stared at him. "Hmmm… I wonder if I can figure out horsie personalities too." When his horse didn't answer with a snort, he continued brushing him.

The door to his stall opened and Severa came in with a bag of apples in her hand. His knees felt weak and his stomach churned. He knew the feeling of hunger very well. "Hi," he greeted her. "Are those apples for me? That's very sweet of you! I'm very hungry."

"T-this is for Cookie, dummy!"

"Can I have just one? I haven't eaten anything in minutes," he said. _'Oh, so she's who Cookie reminded me of.'_

"Whatever, you big glutton." She said as she handed him an apple.

Severa walked up to Cookie and rubbed him gently on his neck. She knew where to touch him and the right way to do it. "Sorry about yesterday buddy," she said.

He smiled when he saw her do that, "I think he accepts your apology. You're kind of good with horses."

"Well duh! My parents are horse freaks. I practically grew up with horses and pegasi," she said. Severa bent down to pick up a brush from Stahl's toolkit.

He didn't intend to do it, but his gaze went directly to her cleavage. It was way too easy for him to look down her top and he went red when he realized what he did. The rules of propriety that was ingrained in him by her father kicked him in the stomach. He was far too busy enjoying her company and treating her like he did Lissa and Maribelle to realize that he has spent a lot of un-chaperoned time with a young woman. He acted inappropriately with her and it made him feel awkward.

"W-why are you staring at me?"

"It's nothing. I was just thinking," he said. He averted his gaze and continued doing his chore.

"Should I run away? You're thinking of something and it might be dangerous," she said as she put her hands on her hips.

The way she did it emphasized her tiny waist and he inadvertently looked her up and down. He realized that she always took the time to dress up nicely whenever she wasn't deployed to battles. But what she wore today was unlike her usual ones that covered her up completely. Her décolletage was a little low, and her skirt was a little high. _'It must be because of the weather. It is warmer here than it is in Ylisse,'_ he thought. He gave her a complement nevertheless, "you look lovely today."

"Of course, I'm ALWAYS lovely, it's to be expected!" her own brand of confidence appeared and it amused him. He grinned and he wanted to… he was compelled against his will to pinch her cheeks.

"I have been thinking," he repeated when the irresistible urge to pinch her died down.

"Are you going to tell me another secret? I am not your secret keeper," she said.

"I want your opinion on something. It's been on my head for quite a while and I've been weighing the consequences… but I'm at a standstill. I need to ask you first," he said. "W-what are we?"

"Huh?"Severa blushed and slapped his arm. "What kind of a question is that?"

He waited for her answer but she didn't say anything. "We are…" she said as her hands fell to her side and looked away from him, "we are very good friends."

That confirmed where they stood. They were just very good friends. It was perfectly possible for a man and a woman to be just very good friends. Just very good friends.

"I'm sorry…" he didn't understand why he had to tell her that. Had she said otherwise, he wouldn't be doing this. "Have you ever felt like sometimes, life intervenes? That even if some things were fated to happen, you still want to steer it to the direction you want it to? I think you know this better than anyone else." He was being vague. He felt like there was something struggling inside of him and he didn't know how to tackle it. He wanted to be free from the promise he made her a few months ago, but it was difficult.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"I want to take control of my life too," he said. "Like you, Lucina and the rest. I want to be free."

"No one is stopping you," she said.

"I really want to move on from Olivia, so I've been thinking of somebody. I think she will help me heal my heart. But when I think about this person, I think it's hopeless. She might be disappointed in me because I'm, you know, bland. And I feel uncertain if she likes me too."

"How would you know if you don't even try? Gawds, grow a backbone Stahl!" She rolled her eyes. Her pout that was mixed with a smile made its appearance.

"I want your opinion because it involves you."

"M-me?"

"Yes. I would like to know if you think I should go on with it, stupid as it sounds. And I couldn't do it without your permission."

She rolled her eyes, "You can make your own decisions without asking me for permission you dummy. G-go ahead and do it. You have my support if it will help you forget Olivia."

"R-really?" He asked. "Then I guess… I have your permission." The tense feeling in the air left and he continued grooming Cookie. "Whew! I didn't think you'd say yes." He was now free to pursue Panne.


	8. Chapter 8

Severa was shocked at the amount of onions that Frederick put before her. They were sixty-four all in all and she hasn't even begun cutting them when tears formed in her eyes. It hurt her that the only path to Frederick's forgiveness was through chores. Lots and lots of random chores.

"The item on the menu is beef stew and you will help Cherche make enough for thirty-three people. The rest of the ingredients will be brought to the kitchen by her crew." Frederick said.

"You're treating me like a soldier," she whined.

"I treated you like a daughter and you became spoiled."

She stomped her foot and pouted, but she carried the basket of onions anyway. Severa saw Lon'qu and Cherche already preparing some things for lunch. Lon'qu sat in a corner near a mountain of red potatoes which he deftly peeled. For each potato that he finished peeling, he handed it over to Cherche who quickly cut them in cubes and set them aside. When she's done, she didn't have to command for the next item. All she had to do was show him her empty hand, and he'll put a potato in it.

They worked so fast together under a perfectly working system that every move they made was instinctive. They understood each other so well that it transcended the barriers of space and time and went into cooking. Either way, the synergy between them made Severa speechless.

"Heya Severa," she heard her name called. She looked to see Stahl grinning beside her. He had two baskets of carrots with him. "You know, I was speechless too when I first saw them like that. Maybe in another world Cherche had a restaurant and the one who prepared potatoes for her was Lon'qu. The kitchen dynamics they have is just so unreal," he said. Then he went ahead of her and placed the baskets on the prep table. "Hi guys!" He said.

"Hey Cherchef!" Gaius entered the kitchen with a sack of flour. Sumia followed behind with baskets of berries in her hands.

"Hello. It's the first time I've seen you here," Sumia said as she greeted Severa.

"It's my dad. He told me to do chores," Severa answered, "and today is kitchen duty."

"Okay. Welcome to the kitchen headed by Cherchef! If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask," Sumia said. She went ahead to the prep table and almost stumbled, but Gaius caught her. "Come on Stumbles, hold on to me now."

Watching the two of them made her feel uneasy. How this world's Sumia ended up with this world's Henry, she could never tell. Relationships were funny.

Two more people joined The Kitchen Crew. Robin and Olivia entered with herbs and a jar of honey. Olivia slowly made her way to the prep table and took her place beside Stahl.

Severa's heart sank when she saw what happened. Stahl was accommodating to Olivia as usual and she never left his side. She saw everything that Olivia did: her shy smiles, her soft touches to his arm whenever she needed some help, her sad smile… She saw how he joked around, how he casually touched her hand when he handed something to her, his sad smile… but he tried his best to limit their interactions.

"Hey honey," she heard Cordelia say. Her mother gave her a kiss on the head and took the basket of onions away from her. "Here, you can have this," Cordelia said as she handed Severa three bags of bread.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I asked your dad to be part of The Kitchen Crew so I can be with you," she said. Severa recalled that Cordelia was particularly good at making sandwiches.

"Daddy said it's gonna be beef stew for lunch," Severa said.

"I know. Have you cooked before?"

"I know how to make stew if you're wondering," she answered.

Cordelia smiled, "that's good." They headed towards the prep table and began the preparations. Severa purposely took the space between Stahl and Olivia. The gap between those two grew bigger when Cordelia took the spot beside her daughter and Sumia joined her.

Cherche greeted Severa with a disarming smile that reminded her of her father. "The only rule that you should be aware of is that in this kitchen I am the boss. I am lenient with how you prepare things because we are not in a restaurant. You can even joke around with other people but you have to be working while you're doing that. And when I ask you if you're done with your task, you better be done with your task." She stopped dicing the potatoes and picked up her giant axe effortlessly. She played with it a little as she smiled nicely. "Understood?"

Severa gulped, "Understood." Cherche was a different kind of scary.

She took an onion from the basket and was about to peel it when she realized that she had no knife.

"Here," Stahl handed her his knife.

"I could've gotten my own knife, thank you very much," she said.

"Oh, I'll take that 'thank you'. Coming from you, it's a pretty rare treat! I'll just start making my pastry sheets so that when you're done with the onions, I can get the knife back." He took a cup of flour from the sack but the flour dust tickled his nose which made him sneeze.

"Ugh! You got flour everywhere," Severa whined.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "There's some on your face. Here, let me get that for you." He smeared a thin streak of flour on her cheek. "There's some more here," he smeared it across her forehead.

"Why you -" She got a handful of flour and threw it at his face.

Stahl gasped, took a handful as well and threw it at her. "Is that a challenge? You are so dead!" It landed on her chest.

"I'm just getting started," she said. She grabbed more flour from the sack and threw more flour at him. Stahl reached for the bag but every time he does, Severa launched an attack. He managed to grab the bag, immobilized her by grabbing her arm and rubbing flour all over her face. Stahl laughed maniacally as Severa screamed.

"My flour!" Gaius exclaimed when he saw the mess in front of him.

"Flirt somewhere else you two," Cherche interrupted them. "And don't use my ingredients."

"F-flirt?!" Stahl asked.

"EXCUSE ME? Who's flirting?" Severa said as she blushed. At the corner of her eyes, she saw Olivia wilt and looked sadly at Stahl. He looked at everybody at the prep table and his brows furrowed. He rubbed his nape and continued working.

"Um, you still have flour on you," Olivia said. She was about to clean his face when Severa handed Stahl her own handkerchief.

"Thanks," he said and then he went back to work. He minimized his interaction with Olivia when Severa glared at both of them.

Sumia elbowed Cordelia and exchanged meaningful looks with her friend. "Just concentrate on the onions," Cordelia told her daughter.

Severa blushed and went back to her task. She has only peeled one onion and a whole basket waited for her. She tried to peel and slice as fast as she can. When she moved on to the next onion, her eyes started to water. "How many more of these do I have to do?" She whined.

"A lot. So you better hurry because I still need that knife," Stahl said.

She looked at what he was doing. He was finished kneading the dough and compared to what she has done, she has only finished four onions.

"There's a trick to it," he said. "This is what Cherche taught us," Stahl stopped what he was doing and stood behind Severa. He formed her hand to look like a claw, "imagine you're a cat with a toy. Your 'paw' should be on top of your 'toy' so you won't accidentally cut your fingers." He put her hand, the one that was holding a knife, in the proper position and showed her to rock a knife. "The knife never leaves the chopping board and your hand should make a gentle rocking motion. Or pump it."

She felt her face redden. _'He's holding my hands. He's holding my hands and embracing me!'_

"Then take off the top and the bottom, then make four big slices. The onion leaves will come off faster and the fleshy bits will separate once it's cooked. Cherche said that she didn't mind how it's cut, what matters is that you finish it." He went back to his spot and unsheathed his sword. "Now try it." He took off the carrot heads with his weapon.

Severa did the trick and she managed to cut down onions at half the time it usually took her. Cordelia looked at what she was doing and gave her a nod of approval. When she reached her eighth onion, the tears fell.

"There, there," Cordelia stopped grinding herbs and hugged her. "Let's trade places for now. You don't need to rush things," she handed Severa some thyme. "We have all the thyme in the world."

Lon'qu groaned. "Are we doing this again?"

"Yes!" Sumia exclaimed. "Lettuce see who will reign supreme," she giggled.

"I knew this thing would turnip sooner or later…" Olivia mumbled.

"Peas everyone, don't get too excited because I'll have you all on the flour with my puns," Robin said.

"Heh. I would normally join in, but I donut carrot all," Gaius said.

"I think we butter stop this before it gets out of hand," Stahl chimed in. "Bay leaf me, things get weird because of puns sometimes," he told Severa.

"Are you kidding me? Nothing beets a vegetable pun," Cherche said.

"Orange you glad we're not doing the pick-up line battle today?" Robin asked.

Lon'qu groaned again.

"Like 'Olive you from my head tomatoes?'" Stahl asked.

"I-I've bean thinking about you." Olivia said.

"Baby, I think you're cherry sweet!" Gaius winked.

"I love you berry much," Sumia said.

"Lime yours, baby!" Cherche laughed.

"Somebody kale me now…" Lon'qu grumbled.

"That's it! I'm leaving! GAWDS! Now I know why they call you Cherchef!" She fumed. She lost it when even Lon'qu made a pun. "You're all so corny!"

The Kitchen Crew laughed and everybody patted her on the back. "Gods! I'm not even trying to make a pun! You think that was a pun?!" She couldn't believe how shallow everyone was. She expected it from Gaius, Sumia and Stahl, but Robin, her mother and Lon'qu?

"That's the spirit!" Cordelia said as she hugged her. "Let's celery-brate!"

"Aaarrrrggghhhhh!"

"I told you, things can get weird if we romaine doing this," Stahl said.

Gaius nodded. "I remember that. It got really weird when I said 'get ready to ride the flavor stallion!' once to Olivia. And that's the nickname I gave you."

Olivia looked like she wanted to die on the spot, and Stahl laughed nervously. "Y-yeah. So weird."

"What matters is that you stopped the onion tears because of our puns," Robin said.

She realized that Robin was right. She has stopped crying. What the Shepherds did was corny, but it was also touching. "Oh… then… t-thanks! There! I said it! Now don't make me say it again." She went back to preparing the onions.

The Kitchen Crew sniggered and gave her side glances. Severa rolled her eyes and did the onions as fast as she can to avoid getting more touchy-feely with the crew. Realizing that Severa was still taking too long with the knife, Stahl peeled and diced the carrots with his sword. Sumia made the finishing touches to her pies and put them in the oven. Robin added the last few touches to his bruschettas.

"Cherche, I'm done with the onions." Severa called out. The mercenary handed Stahl the knife and he proceeded to peel the carrots.

"Thank you. Now go do the garlic cloves. I need one hundred and sixty," Cherche said.

"What? That much?!"

"Yes. That much."

"There's a trick to it," Sumia said. It was her turn to teach Severa something new. They spent the rest of the morning teaching her kitchen tips and tricks. Beef stew, cherry pies, carrot dumplings, honey cupcakes, Feroxi gruel and bruschettas were served during lunch. The Kitchen Crew was entitled to have the first taste, "this is good," Cherche said. "We're good to go."

* * *

Severa looked worried when everybody in the mess hall ignored her batch of stew. Cherche's batch got eaten immediately and the next one to go was her mother's. Stahl's batch fared better than hers too.

The paladin took a glance at the pot in front of Severa and saw that the stew inside it was a little darker than usual. He took a bowlful of it and contemplated on the taste. "This is fine. It's not completely burnt, but it has a smokey aftertaste," he said.

"That's not how stew is supposed to taste," Severa said.

"I love it. I've been craving for something smokey lately and I love stews," Stahl said.

"You eat everything!"

He chuckled, "I do!"

"It doesn't look like they're interested in it though," she said.

"Don't mind them. Reserve this whole batch for me and I'll eat the whole thing."

"You would?" she asked.

"I would," he said. "Just give me a minute. Not that I can't down it in a minute. I probably can, but ah well… I'll be back." He took a plate of carrot dumplings and rushed to where Panne sat alone as usual. Anyone who came close to her was immediately threatened by a sharp look. She only gave Stahl the permission to be with her ever since he brought her carrot dumplings.

"Panne."

"Stahl."

"This is today's batch of dumplings. I hope you like it," he said.

Panne took a dumpling and bit it. Stahl fidgeted as he waited for her judgment. _'Come on, is it good? Is it bad?'_

"Why are you hovering around me while I eat?" Panne raised her eyebrow as she asked Stahl.

He looked at her sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I'm trying to see what other kinds of food you like." Stahl smiled at her. "You can't keep eating nothing but dumplings. You'll get scurvy!" It was his family training working on overdrive. _'Oranges are special,'_ his father once said. _'They help keep your gums nice and they prevent scurvy.'_ Then he thought of all the fruits and vegetables that had vitamin C that Panne could possibly digest. _'Do carrots have vitamin C? I better check with Miriel.'_

"Then sit down and join me! Do not hover like a jackal."

"Oh, er, thank you! That's very kind!" He sat beside her and noticed a bunch of fruits on the table. "Hmm... What's this red thing?" It was red and plump, about the size of a tomato. "Is it edible? I haven't eaten in minutes…"

"Firefruit. Its juice can make human skin blister and itch for days on end."

He bit on the thing when she said 'fruit'. Its juices oozed and squirted on his face when he took a bite out of it. "Hey, that's pretty good! ...Wait, what did you say about juice? Oh, gods! It's on my fingers! And in my EYES! Aaaiiieeeeee! Urrrgh..."

He fell backwards from his seat and tried to clean his eyes with his hands. It only made the itching worse. He couldn't take it anymore! He never knew that the thing that he loved most in the world would kill him.

"Hello? Stahl? Are you dead?" she poked his cheek, "Nod if you are not dead." Panne straddled him and leaned closer to check on his breathing. She saw the traces of firefruit juice on his face and fingers. She put his fingers in her mouth and moaned as she sucked on them. She leaned closer to his face, and licked his closed eyelids.

He felt a pleasant sensation on his face, his fingers and – He was woken up by the sound of something breaking. Sumia probably broke another bowl. "N-no, I'm fine. Just a...little light headed is all." He can finally open his eyes! The itchiness was gone.

Panne stopped what she was doing and checked his face for other signs of firefruit juice."You cannot enjoy the meal properly when you're in such a state." There were still traces of it near his left eye. She turned his head to the side and licked the juice off.

Her moans turned his face red. He scratched his nose and looked her in the eyes. "Er, Panne? Maybe I just fainted, but were you licking my face just now?"

"Yes. It is the way we taguel clean each other. Is that a problem?"

"Er, no!" Of course there wasn't a problem other than his pants getting uncomfortably tight. "I mean, I'm glad you saved my eyesight and all, but... It's just a little odd to be licked by a beautiful woman." He looked at the way that Panne straddled him and how close his face was to her chest.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, strange man. Here, try this fruit instead." She reached for a piece of fruit from the table. The way she moved accented all of her curves and Stahl had a hard time. "It should be safe for human skin."

It was a nice green pear. "Um, there are bite marks in this. Is that normal, or were you eating it?"

"Do you refuse to take it just because it's been in my mouth?"

Her voice sounded so sultry. "Gracious, no! N-not at all! Ha ha! Ha…" He laughed nervously. "Why should I care? So, er...here goes..." He bit into the pear. It was an indirect kiss, and Stahl wasn't sure if the taguel was aware of such a thing.

Panne stood up and dusted herself off. She went back to eating her dumplings. His gaze went to her legs and he admired how long they were.

When Stahl finished eating the pear, he saw Vaike and Virion sitting near him with grins on their faces. "We thought you two were going to put on a show," Vaike said.

Stahl grumbled.

After lunch, he searched for Panne and found her sitting alone at the top of a hill. "What is it Stahl?" She asked when he was near her.

"Panne, I've been thinking," he said as he sat down beside her.

"I can hear your heartbeat. Are you nervous?"

He looked sheepishly at her then he slowly nodded."I never got to thank you for cleaning me up a while ago."

Panne shrugged. "No problem. So what is it that you really want?"

He looked into her eyes. He never noticed how mesmerizing they were before. It was full of wisdom and full of sadness. And he wanted more than anything, to let that sadness go away. He wanted to be the one to make her happy. "Panne I… I still want to get to know you better. Remember the first time that we met?"

"The one where you said you wanted to be my friend and spend some time together? Yes, I remember that." She answered. "Are we not spending time together?"

"Yes, about that, I meant that maybe we could, you know… spend time exclusively together. Gosh, I don't know how to make this any clearer." Stahl blushed and scratched his nose. "I like you Panne, would you go out with me? Like on dates and we'd get to know each other better?"

Panne raised her eyebrows. "I'm well aware of that human mating ritual. Is this what your heart is beating fast for?"

"Oh! M-mating? Um, gee…" He swallowed hard. "I uh, who could say no? I mean - only if you like me too."

"I like you too, you silly man," Panne smiled.

' _Oh, she didn't call me man-spawn. That's progress.'_

"How do we start?" she asked. The paladin knew that she was just playing coy.

"We start with an embrace," he said. Stahl caressed her arm and slowly put his arms around her. He ran his fingertips down her back and Panne pressed her cheek against his.

"And then?" She whispered in his ear.

"And then we kiss. Like this," Stahl cupped her chin with his finger and caressed her face. He leaned closer to her, closed his eyes and kissed her.

"I didn't think a woman like you would notice me," he said when their lips parted.

"You made yourself noticed," she answered.

The paladin ran his fingers down a floppy velveteen ear and plaited hair. She moaned when he reached the tip of her ear. Stahl silenced her with a fervent kiss.

They suddenly heard a loud "SMACK!" near the foot of the hill. They broke their kiss and saw Cynthia and Severa playing with wooden swords.

"Oh my gosh, what?! That HURTS, you lunatic!" Severa shouted. She hit Cynthia's forearm with her wooden sword.

"Yowch! Your insults don't hurt as much as these dumb wooden swords!" Cynthia said as she rubbed her forearm.

Panne giggled at the girls' antics.

There was an uneasiness that engulfed him when he saw Severa near them. "Maybe we should go somewhere else," he said. Stahl and Panne left while holding each other's hands.


	9. Chapter 9

Severa gave a practice dummy the beating that ended its service to the Shepherds. It lost its last leg after one fatal swipe of her sword. "That was a dick move! A dick move!" she shouted to no one in particular. She made sure that she stayed behind in camp to do some "chores" that Frederick gave her.

She threw her sword to the ground and fell on her knees. _'How could he break his promise to me? He said he will not interfere with other people's love lives and what is he doing? He's fucking Panne!'_ She couldn't erase what she saw out of her mind.

Panne on top of him and getting intimate with him in front of everyone.  
Panne all alone with him on a hill and kissing him.  
Panne and her nice body.  
Panne who was the object of his affection.

' _How could I forget that he was in love with Panne before he met Olivia?'_

She can't stop imagining Stahl playing music for her.  
Stahl doing everything that he can just to make sure that Panne was happy.  
Stahl knowing every intimate detail of her body.  
Stahl being a complete idiot.

Her hands touched the ribbons in her hair, the ones that _her_ Stahl gave to her a long time ago. "What's the point of it all?" she said as she curled into a ball and got herself inside her black dome. _'That's what he meant when he said he wanted my permission. He wanted to be free of his promise to me.'_

She felt somebody touch her shoulder and shake her. "Why cry, firefly?" It was Cynthia.

It was strange. How could she see Cynthia clearly when she can't even see her arms or anything in her dome. "W-what are you doing here? And I'm not crying!"

"Henry is my father, so I know a thing or two about dark magic," Cynthia said. She wiped Severa's tears away with her thumbs and showed her wet thumbs to the mercenary. "A hero saves everyone from everything and that includes the Dome of Depression!" she posed into something that looked dorkier than heroic.

"Nerd…" Severa said.

"No really. You should tell me what's going on. You should tell someone if you don't want to tell me because the more that you make things like this, the more that the darkness will consume your heart. We will lose you forever and it's not a good thing! You don't know how to control magic yet. So what's the bean, drama queen?" Cynthia asked her.

"You will never know what I feel! You have always been loved, Cynthia. You don't know what it's like to be spurned, to have someone get your hopes up only to have it dashed the next day! You will never know it Cynthia, because you've always had Owain to love you. And me? No one will ever love me, no one!"

Cynthia crossed the distance between them and hugged Severa tightly. "Yesterday you told me that we were friends. And I do love you Severa! Your parents love you too. So why are you crying?"

"I want love. I want the kind of love that you and Owain have. And I have so much love to give, but no matter what I do, I can never get it. Not in our time, and not now. And it's so hopeless because I've been in love with someone for the longest time. But he will never be mine. He will always be someone's. And I'm nobody. I'll always be just a girl that he knows because we're in the same army. It hurts that I can never be more to him like he is to me. Gods Cynthia! It hurts. It hurts so much!"

Cynthia ran her hand through Severa's hair and let her friend cry her heart out. "Sevvy, it must really hurt you that much that you didn't even put on your mean mask. Do you want to know why it hurts? Because what you feel for him is real. Who is it that put you in so much pain?"

"I-it's Stahl…"

"Oh dear, that is a problem." Cynthia said.

"You think I don't know that? I hate him because he chose Panne over me. I hate him so much! I hate how he makes me feel this way. I hate that no matter what I do, I will always love Stahl," Severa said.

Cynthia sighed, "You got it bad. Wait, we have to get out of this place first. KA – BLAMMMO!" Cynthia clapped her hands and the dome surrounding them disappeared. They were back at the makeshift training grounds and Severa looked like a complete wreck.

"So you love him, ever since we were kids? I mean, he's kind of cute and he's very kind whichever world he's in, and he made so many sacrifices for us in our time. Are you sure you're not mistaking gratitude for love?"

"I'm grateful to his other self for giving us a chance for a brighter future but no, what I feel is beyond gratitude. The Stahl that I love is the one here now. The one that I thought I had a chance of being together with forever. And I thought he felt the same for me. But I was wrong! I was so wrong! I feel like I'm turning into my mother. Is unrequited love a family trait that gets passed on? I don't want him to be my Chrom."

Cynthia rolled her eyes, "exalted blood and everything. But you can't have Stahl, Severa. He's with Panne now and he's your father's underling! Do you have any idea how complicated this whole thing is?"

Severa sighed. "Yes… I know. I still love him."

* * *

"Panne."

"Stahl."

They greeted each other like this ever since they met two years ago. The only thing that changed was that he could kiss her freely in front of everyone and Panne didn't bat an eye or push him away. Once he got through to her, Stahl found out that Panne was actually sweet.

"Would you like to chase butterflies with me?" he asked her. He blushed, he fidgeted, he shyly looked at her with his puppy dog eyes.

Panne tilted her head and sighed. "Why would I want to do that?"

"I-it's fun and I wanted to have some with you. Just look at this place," he said as he presented to her the meadow on top of the Mila Tree. "This place is like a miracle! There are flowers, and butterflies, and we're on top of a giant tree!" he chuckled. He scratched his cheek with a finger and smiled at her.

She found his actions endearing albeit a little immature. "I'll race you," she said. Panne turned into her battle form and streaked across the fields chasing after butterflies.

"N-no fair!" Stahl exclaimed.

Panne slowed down a bit to let him catch up to her. They reached the part of the tree where most of the butterflies were and Stahl let them land gently on his ever present cowlick. He stood as still as possible to attract butterflies, but one sneeze drove them all away.

Panne returned to her human form and the moment she did that, a lot of blue butterflies landed on her. "They like you," Stahl said.

All around them, the army took a moment to stop and literally smell the flowers. Love was definitely in the air, and Stahl suspected that Tharja may have used a love potion that affected everyone since Donnel and Sully looked like they were on a date. The butterflies flew away when Henry and Sumia attracted all of the butterflies to themselves.

He took her hands and led her down to the clear spring that surrounded the roots of the tree. "Let's have a picnic date here," he said. "It's getting a little crowded up there, but at least down here we're alone."

She looked at him coyly and batted her eyes at him, "you sure love being alone with me," she said.

Stahl gulped, "how can I not love it?" He traced her cheek with his finger and grabbed her by the waist.

"I smell apples on you by the way," Panne said.

He raised his eyebrow and shook his head. "It's always food with us huh?" It was a mood ruiner, but he can turn this around. "Hey, have you ever bobbed for apples before? We used to do it all the time," he said.

"Why are we doing this? We are in the middle of a war."

"Exactly. We are in the middle of a war. This might be the only chance that we will get to do this, and I would like to seize this opportunity. Shall we?" He liked showing her the nice side of humanity, the fun side. Panne was almost always serious and getting her to smile was a challenge. But when she does, he gets reduced to a stuttering mess.

He dropped some apples from his snack pack into the water. "Okay, so the person who gets the most apples wins."

"What's the prize?"

"Er, the apples?"

"How about the winner gets to decide who goes on top?" She suggested.

Stahl got flustered. It's always that with her, food and sex. "D-deal!"

The two of them bobbed for apples, but the moment that Panne got her first one, Stahl had to stop and look at the water dripping down her chest. Everything that she did was seductive and it drove him mad. Stahl pinned her to the ground and licked the water droplets on her cleavage. He planted soft kisses on her neck and playfully bit her. "I don't care about the apples anymore," he said. "I'd rather eat you."

She playfully swatted his nose and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Then show me how hungry you are."

He can't stop smiling, "we are so cheesy!"

"Shut up and ride me, Stahllion."

He was happy to oblige. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon intertwined and letting go of their primal urges.

She cuddled next to him and played with his already messy hair after they did the dirty deed. Stahl ran his fingers down her bare back as he looked at the cloudy morning sky. He felt like it was not going to clear up anytime soon. Being with Panne was all about passion, and he wondered if their relationship went beyond that. He was a romantic and she was not, she was serious and he was silly. He liked taking care of people, she doesn't like people. They were incompatible but he was doing his best to make her the happiest woman alive.

"Panne, do I make you happy? I mean, beyond the food and - "

She giggled, "I'm very happy with you Stahl," she said. "I finally found somewhere I belong to because of you…"

He traced her cheek with his finger and kissed her forehead, that's a yes. "You make me happy too Panne." He hugged her tightly.

* * *

After the successful albeit strange rescue of Lady Tiki in the Mila Tree, the Shepherds headed back to camp. Cordelia, Maribelle and Stahl practiced a new song that they picked up from the locals around the area.

"4/4 D, B, D, B. Is this an eighth note or a sixteenth note?" Stahl asked them.

"Eighth. Better get used to seeing eighth notes connected like that," Cordelia said.

Frederick and Panne sat with them around the campfire and watched them play some music. The knight commander listened to his wife and nodded his head as she played.

"Ow!"

The music stopped when they heard people shouting.

It was Frederick's duty to stop people from fighting. He went to where the action was and he found Inigo on the ground, nursing a broken nose. Severa hovered on top of him with bloody knuckles.

He stopped his daughter from dealing another blow to the injured prince by grabbing her arm. Severa struggled in her father's grasp and she proved to him that her temper was as short as her height. "You deserve that punch and more! You better bloody stay down or else my knuckles wouldn't be the only thing that you'll meet!" She shouted.

"Severa, what is the meaning of this?" Frederick asked.

"I don't get it, why?" Inigo asked her.

Stahl ran to the scene to assist Frederick. Cordelia followed him when she found out that her daughter was involved. Cynthia ran to the action when she saw the fight. Somebody called Robin and Chrom and they saw what was going on. Chrom picked his son up and told him how to stop his nose from bleeding.

Severa gritted her teeth. "You will never know because you do not even understand what it's like."

Inigo looked genuinely hurt, "that's not true…" he said.

Severa managed to get out of her father's grip and delivered another punch to Inigo's face.

"I told you to stop it!" Frederick shouted. The knight commander pulled his daughter away and Stahl shielded Inigo from a possible attack from Severa.

"Hey, hey… easy now Severa. I'm sure that whatever this is, Inigo is sorry," Stahl said.

"Let me go!" She told Frederick. "He deserves another punch," Severa said.

"It's my fault, really. Look, I have to go," Inigo said as he bowed his head. He left with Robin.

Chrom assessed the situation and clucked his tongue. "I take it that you have things under control here Frederick?" he asked.

"Yes sire," the knight commander answered readily.

"I will deal with Inigo, you deal with Severa."

"Of course."

"Parenting…" Chrom sighed as he left.

Frederick held his daughter by her shoulders. "Severa, I cannot just leave it at that. You are lucky that Chrom has seen it fit that I will be the one to deliver the punishment for your insurgence. You do NOT just do that to princes. What triggered this? I demand an explanation."

She struggled to get away from her father. "Severa, calm down and tell us what happened," Stahl said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No!" She slapped his hand away, "go away! Don't touch me. I hate you!" She slapped his face.

Stahl took a step back and looked surprised.

"I hate you!" she spat at him. "I hate you!"

"Severa! Stop it!" Cynthia exclaimed.

"I cannot abide your tantrums any longer, Severa. You have hurt someone from the royal family –"

"Have you never stopped to consider that it was someone from the royal family who hurt me?" She looked at Stahl while seething in anger.

"W-what? Why are you looking at me?" Stahl asked.

Frederick's eyes widened and Cynthia put her hands on her mouth.

"I hate princes!" Severa shouted. "I hate you!" She slapped him again then she stormed off to her tent.

"That's…" Stahl nursed his cheek and his brows furrowed. "Why?" he asked himself.

Cynthia shook her head, "you'll figure it out," she answered him anyway. She left Frederick, Stahl and Cordelia alone and headed towards Severa's tent.

"I wonder what happened," Cordelia said.

Frederick sighed. "She will not tell me and that's for sure." He folded his arms and bowed his head. "I wish I knew how to handle her. I don't know where all of that anger came from. I don't understand why she's always angry."

"I tried to get through to her, but all I got was a promise that we would build a new future together. I had to bribe her with desserts to get there," Cordelia said.

"I had to bribe her with things so she won't be as unstable," he told his wife. "Just when we think that she would be less volatile, she does something like this. I should've given her more discipline," Frederick said.

"She's deeply hurt," Stahl interrupted them.

"W-why are you still here?" Frederick asked him.

"I – I don't… I'm sorry but I wanted to tell you guys what I think. I know I shouldn't butt in, except for this is important," he answered.

Cordelia and Frederick eyed him.

"She needs some love and understanding. Right now, she doesn't need to be bribed or disciplined. If she doesn't get the proper care, then Carrion Isle will happen again."

"What happened in Carrion Isle?" Cordelia asked.

"Nobody told you? I thought Frederick did. Severa made a globe of darkness and trapped herself in it," Stahl said.

Cordelia gasped and she looked sharply at her husband. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important," Frederick said. "I thought that with the right discipline, she will not do it again."

"That's dark magic Frederick! And you didn't bother to tell me?"

"I know that the only way you deal with things is through discipline, Frederick. The only exception to that is Chrom's family. I think Severa doesn't understand why you would condone them, but treat her differently. Why else would she say that she hates princes?" Stahl asked.

"He's right," Cordelia said.

"Actually, you too Cordelia. Or rather, her real Cordelia. To her, it did not make sense that in the fight that she had with Inigo, you chose him over her. It did not make sense that her Cordelia chose Chrom even if all of us knew that she was fighting for Severa." Stahl closed his eyes and breathed deeply, "I know that she loves both of you deeply, but Severa needs to feel it coming from you." His brows furrowed more.

Frederick peered at his lieutenant. "How did you come up with that?"

Stahl tilted his head and smirked, "I felt it. I felt so much pain. I felt _her_ pain. I felt her pain and pieced together some things from my observations. Miriel said that I'm someone who can feel another person's emotions. I may be wrong, and I've been wrong before, but I know that she's hurt very badly. Inigo might have something to do with it, or he was just at the receiving end of her anger." He shrugged.

"What do you propose we should do?" Frederick asked him.

Stahl blinked several times. "Frederick, you're her father! I can't believe that you don't even know what to do. Are you afraid to talk to your own daughter?"

Frederick grimaced, "don't use your ability on me."

The paladin chuckled. "Go talk to her and take her side. And she's very fragile now…" Stahl said. "She's the kind of person who bottles up her true feelings and would deny it as much as possible. Prying them open would just send her into one of her fits." He looked at Frederick intensely, "so when you talk to her, please… be careful with her. Her heart is very fragile as she's been through so much."

Frederick crossed his arms, "I understand. Thank you," he said. He left Stahl and Cordelia and proceeded to have a talk with his daughter.

Stahl sighed and followed Frederick with his eyes. Cordelia tugged his arm and gave him a questioning look. "What is she to you?" she asked him.

"W-what do you mean?"

"What does Severa mean to you? I know how you are with Frederick. You stutter and follow his orders but this time you are confident and defiant in your own way. I have never seen mild-mannered you standing up against him for somebody else's sake. You have never even done it for yourself. Why do it for her?" Cordelia's grip on his arm became tighter. "What does Severa mean to you?"

"She's a very good friend," he answered, "she said so herself."

Cordelia released him and looked at the ground, "I think I completely understand what you mean."

000000

Author's Notes: Cynthia is sooo Henry's child.


	10. Chapter 10

Frederick heard his daughter sobbing softly inside her tent. Cynthia was in there with Severa, trying to calm her down and giving her words of encouragement. "Severa, can I come in?" he asked.

Cynthia and Severa went out of the tiny tent. Cynthia squeezed Severa's arm and left her alone with her father.

"I'm sorry," Frederick said. "I'm sorry I'm not a better father to you. I should've sided with you when you had a fight with Inigo. I am so used to seeing you being harsh to everyone, that I thought you were the one who provoked him into a fight. I did not take your feelings into consideration. Please accept my apologies."

Severa wiped her tears and cleared her throat. "Only if you will get me a new dress," she said.

"No honey, no more bribes. I want us to have a proper conversation this time," Frederick said. "Care to tell me how you got into a fight? I will listen to everything."

Severa's mouth drew into a thin line. "You never really cared for what I say," she said. "You never really cared for anyone other than the royal family."

He cringed at how Stahl was right about Severa's hatred for the royal family. Severa was wrong on one account however. "I do care about you, you're my daughter!"

"If you do, then why did you always leave me at home alone to go with Chrom?" she asked. "Why is his family so important? Is my existence so offensive that you had to abandon me?"

He was taken aback at her bombardment of questions. "I cannot answer for my future self's actions Severa. The only thing I can say is I am not THAT father. The father that you have in front of you right now, is the one who is willing to mend the grievances my other self made."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Will you listen to my ramblings no matter how inane? Can you handle that?"

"Yes, I can do that."

"Will you be there for my birthdays?"

"Of course, I will be there."

"My wedding?"

"It's too early for that," Frederick frowned.

"I suppose so…" she said.

"Could you tell me now why you got in a fight? Stahl said that you were hurting and I want to understand why." Frederick said.

"H-he knew I was hurting?" the corners of her mouth curled a bit.

"Yes. He thought it was because I chose Inigo's side over yours."

Severa shook her head. "He's wrong. He's very wrong! Stop talking to Stahl, he's stupid and I hate him."

"I can't do that, he's my lieutenant. And why do you hate him? What has he done?"

"I-it's not like I wanted to bring him up, you're the one who did. Gawds! Look, I just don't want to talk about him because he's wrong! Okay, maybe he's partially right, but he's still wrong! I'm not hurting because you took Inigo's side. I'm hurting because… because…"

"Because?"

"Dad this is so awkward!"

"Try me. I have heard more inane things from the other Shepherds."

"I think I'll just tell mom. No, I'll just tell Cynthia again."

"Severa, it's okay. The more that you keep your feelings inside you, the more that it will hurt you."

"Dads and daughters don't talk about this kind of thing!"

Another point went to Stahl. He said that she was going to run away from it as much as possible. "We are an unconventional family and I told you that I will listen to your ramblings no matter how inane."

Severa threw her hands in the air. "Fine! I-I'm in love with someone, I always have been… but he doesn't love me back, and he never will. Inigo pointed that out to me so I punched him," Severa said. "That's the reason. Now what will you do? Give me more chores?"

Frederick snickered. It grew into a full laugh that filled the entire camp.

"I knew it! Go away! I'm disowning you. I don't know you, and you are not my father!" Severa shouted.

"No, no, I just find it funny. I will not punish you for defending your love. That's what I have been doing ever since I understood how to love," Frederick said. "Deep down you are a hopeless romantic. You really are mine and Cordelia's daughter."

He sat on the ground and motioned for her to sit beside him.

Severa harrumphed. "Is this going to be a long talk?" she asked her father.

"Yes. What I am about to tell you might not be something that you wanted to hear, but I assure you that it is relevant. Let me tell you something about Emmeryn. She was my first love. I have spent my life dedicated to her family because I was deeply in love with her, and she with me. When you love someone, you fight for them, you take care of them, you put them first. I have defended Emmeryn from would-be assassins, I defended her honor. I took care of her family and took care of Ylisse with her. I put my personal aspirations aside because her needs came first.

"And when you love someone, truly love someone, you don't threaten them. You don't punish them. Because if you do, it's not real and you are kidding yourself, so you have to let them go. Stahl may have deserved that slap on the face for being with Panne, but if you really love him, then do not hate him."

Severa put her hands to her mouth, "You knew about my feelings for him?!"

"I told you, I care about you so of course I knew."

Severa sobbed into her hands. "I love him. It wouldn't work out in our time but here, it's different. I - I thought I had it… And it hurt when I realized that I didn't. I was so wrong! Wanna know what else sucks? A few days ago, he said he wanted to move on from his ex. He said he found someone who can help him. I even encouraged him, thinking that it was me he was talking about. But it was Panne…"

"Well, you do not choose the ones that you love. In the time that I saw the two of you together, I saw your feelings for each other grow. I may not have initially approved of him, but I saw with my own eyes how much he loved you. I don't think he's aware that he loves you too. He may not say it, but his actions spoke for him. He stood against me to fight for you, he always took care of you, and even if there were things that he wanted to do for himself, you were always his priority. Stahl admitting it is a different matter though. And of course, there is Panne."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"I feel so wrong. Everything inside me feels so wrong. It feels like he played with my heart, but I have no right to complain because we were never together. It hurts so much… I hate him because he chose Panne over me, but I want him to be happy with her. I hate how he makes me feel this way. I hate that I still love him."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "You do understand that this is complicated, right? And complicated irks me."

"Yes. It is very complicated."

"He is my lieutenant and he is your mother's student."

"That's very awkward, I know."

"Frankly Severa, you could do better."

"Yes, but dad… With everything that I've been through, I think I deserve somebody normal," she answered. "And there's nothing wrong with normal!"

Frederick sighed. "I have to tell you how I feel about this. No matter which perspective you look at, you actually have no right to fight for him other than your love for him. He is Panne's and if you pull them apart, you will come out as the villain, and Panne the victim. It will be a long and difficult road for the two of you. If you get together with him, your relationship will be looked at with scorn. I do not want you to endure criticism because of him. Is he worth it Severa?"

The look of steely determination appeared in her eyes, "he is worth hell!"

"Furthermore, as he is my lieutenant, and if gods forbid something bad happens to him, I wouldn't know how to tell you. I wouldn't even know how to face you. And I cannot endure to see you experiencing any more pain. Is he worth it?"

"Dad, I know of his self-sacrificing bent and how he puts others before himself. I know how he would die for your sake and I know that if that happens, it's not your fault. And even if he is stupid like that, he is still worth it."

Frederick patted his daughter's head. "You are a very determined person. Whatever it is that you decide to do, I will support you. In the meantime, I'll try my damndest not to kill him whatever the outcome is, just be ready for the consequences. The rest is up to you, honey. Will you fight Panne for him or will you let him go?"

* * *

Stahl and Panne were inseparable. Anyone who saw them together thought that they will get married in a week. He sat beside her during mealtimes and gave her meals that he made especially for her. She supported him in battle and defended him from attackers. During the march to Fort Steiger, Panne was always seen riding with Stahl.

When things quieted down a bit, Stahl bought a basket of cherries with whipped cream and other fruits that bunnies can eat, while they said puns of his name and riding jokes possibly during mating.

It drove Severa insane!

She spied on them in one of their dates in the nearby town. They were at the Town Square where lovers usually met and public displays of affection were normally ignored. The townspeople looked at them funny. How could someone engage in such activities with somebody like _her_? But they walked away and ignored them after a quick glance. It was after all, none of their business, just Severa's.

She hid in one of the alleys that had a nice vantage point of where the couple was.

"Stahl, have I told you taguel females fancy men like you?" Severa heard Panne say.

"Me? You're the real find! I never met anyone so smart and beautiful," he gushed. Stahl put a cherry between his teeth and Panne kissed him to get it.

Severa developed a sickening disgust to cherries that day. She saw Panne glance at her and smile coyly. _'She knows I'm watching!'_ she closed her fist and gritted her teeth.

"I will give you today," she said. She knew Panne heard it because she winked at Severa.

* * *

A few Risen occasionally attacked the Shepherds. They can be easily taken care of and Robin was smug enough to send only four Shepherds at a time to beat the undead until they're nothing but purple smoke.

Severa and Cynthia volunteered in most of the fights. The two of them cleared numerous battlefields and they were deemed as heroes. Cynthia has never been so happy to be actually called one. Severa on the other hand, didn't care for the accolades. She turned in her mercenary garb for more armor protection, a bigger shield and learned how to wield an axe.

Frederick taught her the basics and in time she developed her own way of using the weapon. She was wounded in one of their sparring sessions and her father sent her to the medical tent to get her wound healed. The moment she entered the tent, her eyes and Stahl's locked, which made the paladin smile warmly. Ignoring him, she crossed her arms and made her way to Lissa to have herself healed. "Just use a kneader, it's just a minor scratch."

Stahl's smile faded. He stopped making his potions, took some medicinal items with him, and sat on the chair beside her. "Heya Lissa. You don't have to use a kneader. I can handle this," he said.

"If you're sure," Lissa said. Stahl nodded. Lissa left to have a chat with Maribelle.

Stahl took off her bloody glove, "better be careful in sparring with Frederick. He is really good at going through your defenses and resistance. It's amazing that you only took this wound, you really are something." He took off the rest of her destroyed arm guard to reveal a scar that ran down her forearm. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to pose a problem in the future if he didn't take care of it. "Do you have other wounds?"

She shot him a look of disdain. "It's none of your business, stupid. You don't care anyway." She hasn't talked to him for a month and this was the first thing that she said to him.

Her words were more hurtful now than they were before. He normally let her abusive nature pass because he knew that they were only skin deep. But now they ran deep and they permeated through her words. He felt burned. "I care," the paladin said.

Stahl held her wrist so he could take a better look at her wound. He accidentally felt her pulse and it was beating fast. He stole a glance at her face and Severa quickly looked away. He cleaned the wound on her arm and for every wince that she made, he held her still.

Severa rolled her eyes as Stahl applied a vulnerary on her wound and wrapped it with bandages. "There. It will be better in an hour. Be careful next time. I don't like seeing you hurt."

She turned her head to look at him and he held her gaze. Her eyes were full of sorrow, her brows were full of hate, and he wished that he could replace them with something else. "I mean it," he said.

Severa's normally indignant face turned a little ecstatic. It made him smile seeing her like that. "I was waiting for you to change your expression into something a little nicer," Stahl chuckled. "You do have a nice smile."

The girl slapped his arm. "I'm not smiling because I'm happy. I'm smiling because you're done fixing me up and I can finally go back to practice," she said.

"Wait for an hour, then you can do whatever you want," he said. "So um, you let me treat your wound and you talked to me. I take it that I won't get the cold shoulder from you again?"

"Why does it matter that I talk to you?" She blushed.

"It matters," he said. "I want everybody to be happy, and you talking to me only means that you don't hate me anymore." He looked for traces of contempt on her face, and waited for the immediate backlash. There was none. "Does that mean that we're friends again?"

Severa walked out of the medical tent without saying a word.

Stahl couldn't let her leave without an answer. He followed her outside and saw her head deep into the woods, away from the rest of the camp.

"Severa?" he asked. She turned around to face him.

"I-I wanted some time alone," she said. Her face was red and she pouted.

"And here we are alone," he answered. "There were too many people in the tent for us to have a proper conversation, I guess."

"I still want to be alone," she said sullenly. "But you are so persistent, it's not like I have a choice."

He had so many questions for her and he didn't want to delay any longer. "How did I hurt you, Severa?"

Severa raised her eyebrows as he bridged the distance between them.

"Can you please tell me how? I can't rest easy until I know. I understand that you hate me, but I must've done something to have caused your anger. What did I do?" his hand went to where his heart was, as if he was holding it to protect it.

"You know me. I hate the world, and you're a part of it… so that means I hate you too," she answered. She turned around and was about to run away but he grabbed her hand.

"That's a lie," he said softly. "That is one big lie."

She pulled her hand away from him and put her hands on her hips, "how would you know that? I told you the frigging truth!"

"I-I know when you're lying. When you lie, your fists are clenched, and your eyes squint. I know that when you're happy, you pout but the corner of your lips are curled and it reminds me of a smiling cat. And when you're sad or thinking deep thoughts, your eyebrows furrow and you always look away. I know this because I'm always looking at your face." He cringed inwardly. _'Stahl, what are you saying? You sound like a stalker. Stop, or else your new nickname will be Stahlker. Please don't let that happen. '_

Severa's cheeks reddened as she cringed. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"Your face tells me more than your words ever will, Severa. You have the most expressive face I have ever seen. Despite the hurtful things that you say or do, you are actually the most honest person I have ever met. Can you blame me if I'm always looking at you?" He gazed at her intensely as he pinned her to a tree.

' _Stahl, what are you doing? Stop!'_

Severa looked away from him, her brows furrowed and she tried to resist his grip. He was far stronger than she was, "Stahl, let me go."

"What did I do to cause your pain? How can I fix us?" Stahl lifted her chin up with his finger, pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "Please tell me…"

' _Stahl, stop!'_

She turned her head to minimize the physical contact between them. "Stahl… I have a lot of issues that I can't just tell you! There is nothing that you can do NOW that will fix this… this mess."

The paladin shook his head. "I'm afraid there is something to fix. Me. I have to fix me. And the only solution is for you to tell me why you hate me. I haven't slept at all because I can't get you off my mind! Gods Severa! I'm so stressed because I keep thinking of you!" Stahl blinked. _'What in seven hells did I just say?!'_

"S-Stahl…"

He gripped her shoulders again, "please tell me why. I do not want you to hate me because it hurts. It really hurts. And I do not want to live the rest of my life wondering why I made you feel this way because I only wanted to make you happy."

' _Staahhhhpppppp…'_

Severa put her head on his chest and clutched his shirt. "You fool… You big stupid idiot!" she said. She lightly punched his shoulder. "Why can't you understand what I feel? You're always… always… you're always so stupid!"

He grabbed her wrist before she punches him again. "I don't know what you really feel! I can't understand unless you tell me because right now, the only thing I'm feeling from you is your evasiveness and your anger. You are one big well of emotions Severa, and every time I try to understand you, all I ever do is fall deeper… Just tell me why you hate me and I will do what it takes so that we can be friends again!"

She gritted her teeth and stomped her foot. Her face was red and she clearly held something back from him. "Look, if it means that you will stop getting stressed over this and stop bugging me, then I no longer hate you! I don't want to tell you why, I just don't hate you anymore. So there! Respect my silence over this matter Stahl, because I will not tell you why! You do not NEED to know the reason why. It's this or nothing!" Severa clenched her fists as she gazed into his eyes.

He calmed down and released her from his grip. Her silence about the matter was fine. What mattered was that they were speaking again. Stahl smiled sheepishly as he scratched his nose. "I-I will accept that… Are we friends again?"

"Yes. Now don't ask me why, I just feel like forgiving you."

He sighed. "Thank you, I guess… I'm so glad we can be friends again." He smiled warmly at her, she smiled shyly at him. The paladin could tell that she still had some resentment towards him, but he could deal with that. He felt his heart feel a little lighter.

He looked into her eyes and Stahl felt like he couldn't handle getting lost in them. He looked at her sun-dappled face and the falling leaves around them. He was glad at the smile that started to form on her lips and her eyes that were locked onto his. He didn't know how long they stood there while not saying anything. He had to break the silence because he was looking at her for too long. "I'm really glad that we're friends again. We haven't talked to each other for a month and I missed you a lot."

Severa looked at the ground, "You d-dummy… I… I m-missed you too."


	11. Chapter 11

Severa was battle-ready to confront Panne. After what happened between her and Stahl in the forest, this confrontation was inevitable. Criticism be damned! She'll take on the taguel even if it ends in bloodshed.

It took Cynthia half a day to convince her that it wasn't the best route to take. "If you do this, no one will understand your actions. It's also like you're condemning Stahl as a cheater. Think really hard on what you're about to do."

"He technically didn't," Severa answered.

"No one will care about that," Cynthia said. "All that people will care about is that you are a relationship wrecker even if you aren't."

"But it has to be done. This whole farce should stop before it gets more complicated. I already waited for a month hoping that he would end it naturally, but he can be so stupid."

Cynthia hugged her tightly. "Whatever happens, I'll be here for you. Now go, go, go! I know I can't stop you, but at least have the decency not to kill Panne."

The only logical place for Panne to be in was in the training grounds. Severa headed there and saw Panne practicing her thieving skills with Gaius. She cringed at how Panne looked up close. The taguel was everything that she wasn't. Panne was tall and she didn't need to stand on her tippy-toes just to reach Stahl's face. Even if Severa was confident of her good looks, Panne will always turn heads as she was the definition of exotic. Their personalities were also on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Panne was calm and collected, and she was hot headed. There was also the issue of chest size where some of Severa's angst came from.

The taguel's ears perked when she heard Severa approach her. "It's about time," the taguel said as she turned around and smiled smugly at her. Severa gripped the handle of her axe and her mouth became taut at the anticipation of who will strike first.

Gaius looked from one female to the other. He felt the electricity in the air, "um… this is all kinds of awkward. Should I get Frederick or something?"

"No, there is no need for my father to get involved in this. Just leave," Severa said.

"Okay, okay," Gaius said. He left them.

Panne walked towards Severa, her hand still on her sword. "Let's get down to business shall we? Why are you doing this man-spawn? Why are you still pursuing him despite knowing that he is taken?"

Severa pouted. "I love him and I know that he loves me too. He's a very nice guy, sweet and kind, and should I go on telling you why I think he is the most important person in the world to me?"

"Tch! He's nice to everybody," the taguel said as she raised an eyebrow. "What did he do that he has your heart? Did he smile at you and suddenly you're smitten?"

"He always had my heart, far longer than you can imagine. And if you bothered to look closely, he has a smile that was only meant for me."

"You are insane."

"I am not insane. I am telling the truth and I can no longer bear to see my soulmate with somebody else!" Severa gritted her teeth. She will not back down even if she didn't have the right to do this.

"Soulmate?" Panne laughed. "What made you think that? From a generation who challenges fate, you just happened to be the only one who believes in it."

"I believe in it. I know it. I can feel it and he feels it too."

"That's preposterous."

"Panne, you don't know what it feels like when we are together. It's like the world stops and there's only us in it. In a room full of people, he's the only one I see and he only sees me. I don't even have to announce my presence, his eyes immediately search for me and I lock onto him. We get lost in each other's eyes and when it happens, it's just pure bliss." She bit her lip, "And when we are apart, all we have is this longing, this ache, this nagging feeling that we should be together. One month away from him is hell. What more if we're apart forever? Do you feel that when you're with him?"

Panne shook her head and crossed her arms, "all that this looks to me is a spoiled girl who got it into herself that the first man who ever showed her kindness is the one that she will marry. It's a childhood crush, you'll get over it soon."

"I do not have to repeat myself. I do not have a crush on him, I love him. Think about it Panne. When he is with you, who does he talk about?"

"Everybody. He talks about everybody because he wants me to have friends."

"And does that include me?"

"Yes…" Panne said begrudgingly.

"And when he does, what does he say?"

"It is none of your business."

Severa pouted. "It is my business!"

Panne sighed and rolled her eyes, "he talks about how you are like the sky."

She blushed profusely when she heard this. He has told her why he always looked at the sky, _'s_ _ometimes it's cloudy, sometimes it's sunny. It has so many faces that I never tire of it no matter how often I watch it.'_ That happened when they were in Port Ferox. She recalled how he can tell what she's feeling because he was always looking at her face. Tears welled up in her eyes. _'That bastard.'_ Severa dried her eyes and she felt more determined to fight for him. "Forget about him for a moment. Do you even see yourself growing old with him?"

Panne grimaced.

"Are you prepared to wake up one morning and realize that you are with the wrong man? Do not spend the rest of your life wondering what could've been," Severa said.

"I do not care for that," Panne answered. "What I care about is having someone that I can love."

"Love? Is that the only important thing? Does he make you feel anything else? Does he make you angry? Does he make you sad? Does he make you feel confused? Stressed? Does he make you feel things other than lust?"

"What do you know about lust? You are a child."

"I am not a child! How dare you call me a child! I know what people do in the dark. I have killed to survive. I drank blood to quench my thirst so I can live for another day. I saw my comrades, my friends and my family sacrifice themselves for a better future. I have fought abominations and I am fighting them still. I know darkness intimately. So do not call me a child!"

Panne's defense went down. "I will give you that, Severa. You and I are not so different. I know of loss and pain as you do. And while I mask mine with self-control, you mask yours with bristle. Deep down we are both broken, and we are in love with someone who can make us feel like the world is not such a bad place."

Severa sobbed, "I know that. That is what he makes me feel too but you can also get that from other people. Friends can make you feel that too, not just your lover. I know that you are all alone, but somebody else can make the world better for you. Somebody better, and that person is not Stahl. There is someone else for you, Panne and it's not him."

"Stahl is mine and I am his. And you are desperate."

"No. I am devoted," Severa answered.

Panne gathered Severa in her arms. The girl gasped, she did not expect things to go this way. She expected hair pulling and yelling, not for her rival to embrace her. "You are still too young and there are many things ahead of you. There is more to life than devoting yourself to one man."

"True, but when you find the one who you want to spend the rest of your life with, fight tooth and nail for him," she answered. "You always put him first. And whatever it is that life will bring, I want to face it with him. If you cannot see yourself being devoted to him, then you don't love him Panne. You don't."

"I can't really blame you for falling for him," Panne said. "He does have a charm about him and he is very sweet. But you are also naïve."

"No. I am in love."

* * *

"Stahl."

"Panne."

It felt strange for him that she was the first one to talk to him.

"I will only give you my unconditional honesty and I expect the same in return," Panne said.

He nodded, "okay…" Stahl studied her face to see what was going on. Panne masked it with her usual calmness. _'Why are you asking for the truth? Do you think I'm hiding something? What is going on?'_

"You like me, but you don't like me enough to really love me."

Stahl couldn't believe his ears. "W-what?"

The world around him was shattered. "That's not true!"

He took Panne's hands in his and gazed at her. "I do have feelings for you," he tried to figure out why she would suddenly drop a fireball on him. He looked into her eyes and he saw a turbulent pain in them.

"You do not love me."

Her words were plain as day for him to see. "Oh no, you're breaking up with me!" His jaw dropped the same time that he dropped Panne's hands. "You're breaking up with me…"

They were supposed to have a nice romantic picnic but things went downhill really fast. "We are not in love," Panne said.

Stahl's heart broke to a million pieces. Panne was blunt and she had hurt him with her bluntness several times before, but this time it's different. This was too much for his heart to take. "How could you say that so calmly? H-how can you say that we are not in love?"

"Think about it. We do not have anything in common other than our love of food and sex." Panne breathed deeply and gave him a sad look. This was the first time that he saw an expression like that on her face. He knew that she did not want to give him pain, but it was necessary for her to do so.

He grasped at straws, "Is the sex bad? Or is it my cooking? I know you don't like my cooking, b-but I can be better! I'll think of many recipes involving carrots. I will try and try until I get what you want."

"No, it's great actually, both the mating and the food. But that is not the point. There is nothing deep in our relationship. I feel nothing that connects me to you, and I know that you do not feel for me as you think you do."

"Was intimacy not deep enough? I gave my heart and everything to you." Every word that she said was a death sentence. "Panne, there must be something else that we have in common." He bowed his head and tried to think of the things that they did. She was right. It was all superficial. "But it could've been something more. It could've grown into something more."

"We are not in love."

Stahl felt this rejection heavily in his heart. "What brought this on? I tried to do everything for you. I tried to be the perfect boyfriend for you. I tried to reach your expectations and I made sacrifices for you. Am I not trying hard enough? You said that I made you happy."

"As much as I appreciate that you did everything that you could just to make me happy, it doesn't change the fact that we really do not love each other. The fact that you _tried_ only means that you just wanted to give _us_ a chance. You had to make an effort to do things for me because there was nothing there in the first place. It's like being in a relationship with me was a job, and you have to give it your all or else you will lose it. What we did was force ourselves into a relationship. We hurried into this without really knowing each other. We thought we were happy, but that happiness was a lie. We are not in love."

She was right. Everything that she said was the plain and simple truth, but it was difficult to accept. "Why do you have to drive the point home?"

"Stahl, I have to or else you will not let this go," Panne said.

But he was not convinced that they had to be separated. "I can fix this. Tell me what you want me to do and I will give you my full effort."

The taguel looked pensive. "Stahl, I think you like to fix broken people. It's bordering on pity and I feel insulted. Did you only go out with me only because you pitied me?"

He remembered his conversation with Maribelle when he helped her out on her studies. _'I've never been very good at working hard for my own benefit. If I'm not helping someone, I just can't seem to get interested.'_ Was Panne right?

"I need your answer."

"I wanted to do things for you, to make you comfortable around us. I wanted to make your loneliness go away so I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to be the only one to make you completely happy." He dug deeper in his feelings and saw the core of how he felt for her. "I did, in a sense, pity you. In the end, everything that I did for you was so you can have friends. If they saw that you were in a relationship with a human being, then maybe the rest of the Shepherds wouldn't avoid you. But the complete and absolute truth is that I asked you out originally so I could forget Olivia," he said. "I wanted to have a second chance at love, and I thought I wanted it to be with you."

She looked like she was holding back her tears. "That's what I was waiting for .Thank you for your honesty." Panne caressed his face. "I knew about you and Olivia. Thw two of us are friends and we have talked about you on occasion. She gave me her blessing to be with you and Olivia is learning to move on too. Deep down I knew that you only used me so you could forget about her."

"I'm so sorry I lied to you," he said. "I'm so sorry that I used you."

"Stahl, it's not that. Olivia is a complicated part of your past so I understand why you would like to forget her," Panne answered.

"In the time that we were together, I didn't think of Olivia at all. I have moved on from her long ago and she has her own family now." He knew that Olivia was not the half of the reason for the break up. "Panne, there is something else that you're not telling me. We had a good thing going and I want to go deeper. I want to know more about why we're breaking up. Why can't we be in love?"

"You are just too young for me."

"What is twenty years between us? Since when did that stop anybody?"

"For me, twenty years is nothing, for your race it's not really ethical. You are half my age and we differ in so many things. What we had was passion and intimacy but that's the extent of it. Do you see yourself growing old with me?"

He bowed his head. He can't.

"Neither do I," Panne put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Stahl, but there is somebody out there who truly loves you."

"Panne, don't leave me," he placed his hand on hers in a last ditch attempt to salvage their relationship.

She put his hand away, "if we continue this, we are fooling ourselves. I have given you enough reasons Stahl. I wish that things didn't have to go this way. I wish that we could've been something more. I wish you looked at me the way you looked at her."

"Why? How do I look at Severa?"

"I didn't even mention her name!" she answered. Her eyes turned into slits and she looked like she was ready to literally eat his heart.

Stahl was taken aback. _'Severa? What does she have to do with this?'_ he saw the jealousy in Panne's eyes. "Is that the real reason? Are you breaking up with me because of Severa? You're jealous of Severa but you do not care about my other female friends? I spend more time with Cordelia, Cherche, Lissa and Maribelle than with her and you're not jealous of them? You could've just told me to stop hanging out with her and I would've done that for you."

"No Stahl. Not for her. There is nothing that anybody can say that will make you stop being with her, nor she with you. And given the chance, you will always choose her over me."

It hit him why.

Everything that happened to him up to this point was an avalanche of awareness. He understood the reason for Severa's anger towards him and it all started when he and Panne got together. Panne's jealousy and eventual break up was because Severa had feelings for him. "Oh… Oh no…" the world stopped spinning for a moment when he realized that.

He was a fool. He unknowingly played with Severa's heart and he has hurt her so deeply. He saw Severa's pain but he didn't realize that he caused it. How didn't he realize it sooner? He felt a connection between them, but he was unsure of his feelings for her then. Why didn't he look further into it? Why did he accept the answer that they were just very good friends?

Because her answer hurt him, and to protect himself from further pain, he decided to move on immediately. _'I should've known better. It was just Severa being Severa…'_ he felt wrong that he wasn't careful enough with Severa and now her heart ached just as much as his.

Panne wiped the single tear that dropped down his cheek.

"Panne, I… I love her."

"I know. I hear how your heart beats whenever she passes by and I see how you glance at her. I hear how hers beat whenever you are near, how she steals glances at you and then change her expression to a sneer when you catch her. That girl loves you deeply and you feel the same for her. If you are going to be completely honest with yourself, you felt that a long time ago and I think that you have always known. But Stahl, how you fall for damaged people is beyond me."

She had a point. All of the girls he has fallen in love with had issues. Olivia had her crippling social anxiety, Panne had survivor's guilt, Severa had to deal with survivor's guilt and her post traumatic stress disorder. "I'm sorry if I have given you the impression that I only like broken girls."

Panne chuckled as she shook her head, "it's your heart, Stahl. You love caring for people. You are compassionate to a fault. And I'm not broken, at least not anymore. My warren is gone, but they live on inside of me. Though what happened to them still hurts me from time to time, I have learned how to heal. My loneliness lessened thanks to people like you who showed me that the world isn't such a cruel place. I thought I can make a new life with you, but it wasn't meant to be. Severa is still broken, not just because of her past but because of what happened between you and me. Her heart needs to heal and the only one who can do it is you. And so it ends," Panne said.

Realizing that he couldn't be with Panne anymore, he gave her one last kiss on the cheek. He smiled sadly, "the time that we spent together was fun. I wanted to thank you for letting me forget about my previous pain and you made me feel wanted. I really did have feelings for you, and I wish you the best."

"At a certain point, I did too. We had fun, but beyond it we had nothing. For someone who can understand what others feel, it's funny that you needed someone to point out to you what you can't see for yourself."

"Thanks for letting me realize what I really feel. I'm really sorry, but she is the one for me and I know for a fact that there is someone out there for you too," he said.

"Stahl, love hurts and love redeems. Love again," she said as she hugged him and patted his back.

"Panne, you are smart as you are beautiful. Any guy would be lucky to have you. I think you may have already met him, it's just not me. You too Panne, love again."


	12. Chapter 12

The night was filled with Stahl playing his harp in front of the campfire. Each note that he played sounded inspired and Cordelia nodded approvingly. He was finally good enough that playing the notes he saw became second nature.

"Stahl, you're on fire! That was flawless," Maribelle said.

"Hehe, thanks."The paladin put his harp down and stretched. "I just need to take care of the tempo a little bit and then it will be concert ready." He grinned and resumed tickling the harp strings.

"You're grinning a lot for somebody who just ended a relationship," Cordelia noted.

The grin on his face disappeared. "It didn't work out between her and me, but we ended it like responsible adults," he answered.

"What exactly happened?" Maribelle asked him.

"Let's just say that Panne was nice enough not to kill me, so I think I should be grateful. Anyway, I do have something on my mind."

"Shoot," Cordelia said.

"Why is it that whenever we meet, all that we talk about is love and my love life?" Stahl asked them.

"Love is always a good topic to talk about over tea. There is a feeling you get whenever people talk about it, like there is an excitement in the air because it's something that everyone can relate to. And everyone loves love, because love is wonderful," Maribelle said. "Besides, you're the one with the colorful love life."

"And have you been in love to know what it's like to talk about it?" Stahl asked.

"Rude! A lady must keep her secrets."

"But a gentleman can't?"

"You cad!" Maribelle laughed. "Seriously darling, Cordelia can vouch for me when I say that just talking about it makes everyone giddy."

Cordelia nodded, "that is true. So tell us the juicy gossip."

"Y-yeah, I guess. So um, I have this friend… He's a really nice guy and he's very in love with this girl. She's got a tough exterior but deep down she's a real sweetie. She's really strong and she's beautiful. He knows that she loves him even if she bullies him a lot. For various stupid reasons, they can't spit their feelings out. I-it's pathetic really…"

"So what's the problem? If they both love each other, then what's holding them back? Does he need a little push?" Maribelle asked.

"Maybe he needs a little push," he said. "He is unassertive to say the least, and it takes a lot for him to make a move on a girl. He's afraid to do it because he thinks he's not good enough for her. You know, it's because he's just a commoner and she came from a line of knights."

"I think it's all in his head. He should make the first move if the feeling is mutual, especially since the one that he likes has a tough exterior," Cordelia said. "She will not say her feelings first because she has an image to protect and she will expect it from him since she is a lady."

"Pray tell me, where did you get this advice from?" Maribelle asked her.

"It's from M-make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight…" she answered reluctantly.

Maribelle's eyebrows dropped low. "I'm judging you," she said. "What else?"

"Er, he has other issues. He doesn't know if her parents will accept him."

"If he shows them that he is really in love with their daughter, then I don't think her parents will have any problems with him. So I'd say, let him go for it," Cordelia said.

Stahl's grin returned and he hugged Cordelia tightly. "I'll take that as a yes! I will tell Severa how I feel."

"What? WHAT?!" Cordelia pushed Stahl away.

Maribelle giggled, "you just gave him permission to be with your daughter!"

Cordelia's jaw dropped and she shook her head, "I thought you were talking about Kellam and Sully!"

"I see the parallel," Maribelle giggled again. "But Severa, really?! First it was Panne, now it's Severa. You like dominant women. Stahl, if I didn't know better, I think you are a masochist."

He looked flustered. "No, no, I'm not a masochist. It was a coincidence that they happened to have strong personalities," he said. It's a good thing that they didn't know about Olivia. "Severa is a really talented fighter. She can do so many things if she puts her mind into it and she's a total badass! She's a Risen-slaying time traveler, how badass can you get? Whenever she says something nice, it's extremely rare that they are like diamonds. How can I not admire her? I want to make her see just how wonderful she is, but I'm afraid that I don't deserve her."

Cordelia still had some trouble wrapping her head around this revelation. "How did this happen? When did this happen? Did you cheat on Panne with Severa? Stahl, Panne is a good friend of mine and Severa is my daughter. What kind of dickery is this?! I have so many questions and I need answers. Do you hate me a lot that's why you went after two women who are dear to me?"

"No! That's not how it is. I do not hate you, Cordelia. This is one big coincidence and I can understand why you feel this way. It's… complicated."

"Try to explain it to me in a way that I will not gut you in front of everyone."

"I didn't cheat on Panne, it's just that when I was with her, I didn't realize that I have fallen in love with Severa before." He explained to them all of the events that transpired between him, Severa and Panne.

"Stop! I don't want to hear the details of how you spent your time with them. I-I don't even know how to react to this," Cordelia said as she covered her face with her palm.

Stahl sighed, "relationships are a tricky, messy thing. And sometimes, the one who was meant for you may not be the one that you originally loved. I have been with women whom I loved dearly but they were not _the one_ that I can see myself spending the rest of my life with. This time, I know for sure so I'm treading carefully. Really carefully."

"Other women? Who else did you harbor feelings for? Was it Lissa? Was it Olivia? Was it Lissa and Olivia both at the same time?" Cordelia asked.

Maribelle rolled her eyes, "do not bring my friends into this Cordelia."

Cordelia looked intensely at him. "And are you trying to lecture me about unrequited love, Stahl?"

The paladin shrugged, "it's up to you to interpret what I meant, Cordelia. If you really love Chrom, then why did you bother settling down with Frederick in the first place?"

"That's not the point here, is it? The point is you are in love with my daughter but you were in a passionate relationship with Panne," Cordelia said. "Sumia and I kind of suspected that there was something going on between you two, especially with how you two interact with each other in the kitchen. There's also the fact that you were the only one to take her side on her fight with Inigo."

"Vaike also said something about the sexual tension between you two," Maribelle said.

Cordelia glared at him. "STAHL! WHAT IS THAT ABOUT SEXUAL TENSION WITH SEVERA?"

"Gah! A-about that… um y-you see, I-I-I-I was doing ch-chores and sh-she appeared from out of nowhere w-while I took off my sh-shirt – "

"Gods!" Cordelia gritted her teeth and gripped the frame of her harp until her knuckles went white. "This is exactly what I feared! You claim to love Severa but with how you based your relationship with Panne, you're the love 'em and leave 'em type."

"I wouldn't do that! I'm not Virion or Inigo. Panne was the one who left me."

"Because you cheated on her with my daughter! Gods Stahl! I do not want to put either you or Severa on a bad light but that's what it looks like."

Maribelle covered her mouth daintily with her hand as she laughed."I didn't think you would go into mama-bear mode. I find this whole thing quite amusing actually," Maribelle said.

"I care for Severa, naturally. I do not want her to experience heartache because you will leave her for somebody else.

"U-um… I understand if you don't want me to pursue her anymore. I mean… it's already awkward as it is," Stahl said. "I'm from a different generation and she's my superior's daughter. Heck, she's your daughter! How awkward is it for me to even date her? It's like Robin dating Lucina if he wasn't married to Tharja."

"It astonishes me how self-aware you are. If you look at it from the perspective of somebody else in this army, this whole relationship is weird. Not to mention that in a different world, she could've been YOUR daughter," Maribelle said.

Stahl and Cordelia were creeped out.

"Maribelle, are you really a lady?!" Stahl asked.

"No, just no!" Cordelia threw her hands in the air. "Can we not think of other worlds right now? Can we just focus on this world? There are so many wrong things about your statement I can't even think straight!"

"Let me finish," Maribelle said. "We few who know about our time-traveling offspring can only see it as weird, when in fact it shouldn't be. In this world, you two are not related. You two are in love. From an ordinary person's point of view, you have a perfectly normal relationship. Let's say for argument's sake, that she isn't the daughter of anybody that we know. Will that change what you feel for her?"

"Not in the least bit. I love her."

"You say it so confidently that I feel like believing you," Cordelia said.

"Because it's the truth!"

"And you have ended your previous relationship which means that there is nothing standing in your way. You technically didn't cheat on Panne. But here are the relationships that were affected by this: you and Frederick as superior and subordinate, you and Cordelia as mentor and student, your friendship with everyone involved, and you and Severa. It's not just about romance, it's also about friendship and respect. If you are willing to go through with this, give it at least a month of down time before you pursue Severa so that any issues will die down." Maribelle crossed her arms. "Think about this carefully because you are in the center of this. One wrong move and these delicate bonds can be severed."

Cordelia and Stahl frowned. "How come you know so much?" Cordelia asked Maribelle.

"I don't. I'm just practicing assessment and keeping an open mind if I am to become a judge someday. So what will it be Stahl?"

"I want to do this properly." Stahl turned to Cordelia, "as her mother, I am asking for your approval to court Severa, even if I don't deserve someone like her."

Somebody coughed near them. The three of them saw Frederick near them. It looked like he heard the whole thing, but he didn't look as tense as Cordelia.

"F-Freddy?!" Cordelia exclaimed.

The knight commander walked towards his lieutenant. "You are right. You do not deserve her at all, but I do know that she has been in love with you even before you met her. Before you say anything, yes I know all about her feelings for you. After all that she's been through, she deserves somebody more worthy of her time and her love. If you do love her as you say you do, then prove that to her and to us. If you cannot do that, and if you even think about leaving her, then I will kill you myself."

"I do not intend to leave her. I want to be with her. I love her," Stahl answered with conviction.

"Then I give you my blessing," Frederick said.

"You have to make her extremely happy, Stahl. You don't have to prove it to me or to anyone. You only have to prove it to her," Cordelia said. "If you can do that, then I give you my blessing as well."

* * *

Severa and Stahl's eyes automatically locked onto each other like they always did whenever one of them entered the kitchen tent. It has been a month of just that with him. They talked, but the conversations they had were limited, and they were never together alone. He was almost always with her parents when he interacted with her and everything was casual.

Today was different. He was not wearing his armor. He didn't greet her, he didn't wave his hand, and he didn't move so she could take her usual spot beside him on the prep table. He bowed his head and continued slicing daikon radishes with a Sol Katti.

She took his place beside him. Before she was able to do any work, he stopped what he was doing and he held her wrist. "Meet me later," he whispered. Severa nodded and he two of them went back to their duties.

"Lon'qu, what kind of flowers grow here?" Stahl asked the swordmaster.

Lon'qu raised his eyebrow, "I don't care much for flowers, but I do know that cherry blossoms are the most beautiful ones in Valm. It's too early for them to bloom though. Why do you ask?"

"I study botany. I was wondering about the plants here and which ones are medicinal or edible," Stahl answered.

"Of course you would think of the edible ones," Cherche said as she pinched Stahl's cheeks. "Lon'qu is not the only one from Valm, you know. The flowers that bloom here are mostly pink. There's a flower sanctuary not far from here," Cherche answered. They spent the rest of the morning talking about flowers, fruits and ferns and it irked Severa to see that he talked to Cherche more than he did with her. _'What's this? Is Cherche his new target? I can't believe he's doing it again!'_ she felt the familiar pangs f jealousy well up in her.

Stahl and Severa reached for a bowl at the same time. He withdrew his hand when he accidentally touched her, "sorry," he said, and then he offered her the bowl. He turned around to get some eggs, Severa did the same and they bumped into each other. "Sorry," Stahl said again as he steadied her. He took the basket of eggs instead and she took the top one. They both reached for sugar and their hands touched again. "Go ahead," Stahl said.

"You are acting very strangely," Severa said.

"I am? I-I guess I am," he said and then he went back to making his tamagoyaki. Once the kitchen crew was done with making a Chon'sin style breakfast, Stahl left the kitchen immediately.

Gaius stood beside Severa and smirked. "Poor guy. I heard that Panne left him," he said to no one in particular. Severa knew he was talking to her.

"So that's why he's so quiet," Robin said. "Maybe we should cheer him up."

Cordelia took a basket and placed a wrapped sandwich inside it. "It's easy to cheer him up, food will always make him happy."

Sumia added a meat pie to the basket. "I know we're not close friends, but heartaches are a sad thing. Hopefully this pie cheers him up."

Cherche placed a bottle of orange juice sweetened with honey. "Maybe he asked about edible flowers because he's going to give some to Panne to say sorry," Cherche said.

' _So that's it!'_ Severa felt herself fume.

"I'll take it to him," Olivia said.

Severa snatched the basket from her mother's hands before Olivia could do anything. She stormed out of the kitchen tent before she could hear anything else from the rest of the crew. She certainly didn't want Olivia to interact with Stahl again. She found him outside the kitchen tent and looking at the sky. "It's lovely. There are clear skies today," he said to himself.

Severa cleared her throat, "you wanted to see me?" She asked him.

He looked at her and he smiled warmly, "yes. Why do you have a basket of food with you?"

"Everybody was concerned about you and Panne, so they gave you a picnic basket," she answered. She pouted and shoved the picnic basket in his hands.

"Thank you for delivering it. They are a sweet bunch aren't they?"

"THEY are talking about you inside," she said.

"That's just human nature, let them be." He looked around to see if there was anybody around to see them. "Will you share this basket with me? It's got delicious stuff in it and I can't wait to sink my teeth in them. And sharing food is always nice with good company."

"F-fine. it's not like I'm doing anything anyway," she said.

He offered her his arm and he led her into a clearing in the woods. "Why did we need to go into the woods?" She asked.

"Er, i-it's because… I have a lot of reasons. It's deep and hidden, and it's in the woods where I almost - " He set the basket down on the ground. Without saying a word he threw his arms around her tightly.

"S-Stahl!"

It was a new and exciting feeling. She loved having him so close but she didn't know what to do. _'Am I going to hug him back? Am I going to kiss him? Will that be too forward? Do I wait for him to kiss me? I want to kiss him! Oh gosh, what will I do?'_

"I'm so sorry Severa. I'm so sorry for everything. You may not forgive me for what I've done, but I want you to know that I'm sorry and I want to make everything alright again," he said. She felt how fast his heart beat in his chest and she loved the warmth of his body against hers. Stahl tucked her head under his chin and he placed a hand on her nape. "I'm so sorry…"

"What are you saying sorry for?"

Stahl separated himself from her, went down on his knees and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "Here's a list of what I did wrong. I broke my promise to you. I even asked you to free me from that promise and wording it so you will do it. I didn't take your feelings into consideration and now I understand why you hated me," he stopped reading and looked into her eyes. "I understand everything. I was also totally unromantic when I tried to ask you out in the stables. I'm sorry I messed up. I'm sorry I should've told you sooner."

Severa gasped and her eyes widened into shock. She bit her lip and looked away from him. "Y-you understand? Y-you tried to ask me out in the stables? Y-you knew?!" She hugged herself and blushed profusely.

"I know… that you feel for me."

Her hand went to her heart in an effort to keep it still. Stahl gave her his best impression of a puppy. "A-and?"

"I feel the same way," he said as he put his hand on his heart.

It was her turn to throw her arms around him. Severa pressed her cheek against his chest and her tears were uncontrollable. Stahl held her tightly and the world stopped again. All that they could feel was the warmth of their closeness, and how wonderful it was to be in each other's arms. She ran her fingers through his messy hazel hair.

Stahl smiled and pressed his forehead against hers. "And here's a list of what I will do to make it up to you. I will give you a gift basket – "

He went to a nearby bush where he hid a basket of things. He went down on his knees again and presented the gift basket to her. She took out a roll of bandages with the words "I'm sorry for hurting you. Let's patch it up" written on it, a pot of elixir had "I hope this makes you feel better" written on a tag, A pack of beef jerky had a note on it that read "I've been such a jerk". There were also three handmade coupons that said "Redeemable for one: _"

Severa wiped her tears away and she covered her mouth to hide her laughter, "Gods, you're such a dork!" There was nothing in the gift basket that was romantic, but his adorkable charm was all over it.

"I made the elixir especially for you," he said. "And I am not yet done with making it up to you." He went down on his knees for the second time. "I promise that I will in the future be faithful to you, never cause you harm, and will observe my homage to you completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit. May the heavens call down divine punishment if I swore falsely."

"That's the knight's oath!"

"Yes, and it is unbreakable. Severa, do you forgive me?"

"I forgive you." She pulled him up.

"Thank you. It feels so good to be forgiven. It means so much to me. Er… I have something else for you. I-I l-lo… um… I, uh, I want to tell you something else. Something that's really important but you really, really have to wait for it. You don't have to wait for too long, it's gonna be later tonight. I hope that you will love it," he said. Stahl handed her a handmade coupon with 'be sweet to each other' written on the blank space. "In the meantime, I want to redeem this today. C-can we be sweet to each other from here on out?"

"I-I've been sweet to you!" Severa protested.

Stahl smiled knowingly at her.

"Fine! I may have been a little abusive. I guess I have to start," she cleared her throat. "Y-you are the sweetest guy in the world. There! How's that?"

He chuckled and rubbed his nape. Stahl blushed and grinned goofily. "It's sweet. Have I ever told you that I love seeing your sweet side?"

"No, but… I love it that you told me." Severa slowly smiled and bowed her head to hide her face from him.

He tilted her head up with his fingers, "there are times when I just want to look at your face. You are like the sky, I cannot compare you with anything else in this world."

"And you, you were a dream. There were times when I just want to feel your embrace. I spent all those years longing to hold you in my arms. And as sure as time keeps going on and on, I will always love you. Let me be the one to ask you this time. Stahl, what are we?"

"Soulmates. I believe we are soulmates. We were meant to be together and neither time nor space can stop that," he answered.

She felt delighted that his answer was the same as hers. "T-then, can I... can you… I've been reserving my first kiss for you…"

"I would love to kiss you," he said. "And I want to make it special for you. But wait a bit, okay? I have something for you later and your first kiss is included there."

"Well you totally ruined THAT moment," she said.

"Trust me, please. Later tonight, okay?"

"Okay, but it better be worth it!"


	13. Chapter 13

Valm had unusually cold nights that Severa had to draw her cloak tighter around her. She silently thanked Robin for assigning her and Stahl for tonight's watch. She headed for the campfire where he waited for her.

She could make out the silhouette of his messy hair. He was hunched near the fire and it seemed like he was cooking something heavenly. The scent of chocolates pervaded the air, and she was surprised that Gaius wasn't there with him.

It was as if there was a silent alarm that made him turn his head to look at her. Stahl smiled the moment their eyes locked. He was making s'mores and he motioned for her to sit beside him.

She saw that he changed his job from a Paladin to a Swordmaster. His new attire made him more dashing than he already was, and her heart raced when he flashed his goofy grin.

"H-hi…" She felt a different kind of awkward around him, now that they are aware of each other's feelings. It was like she was reduced to a shy-stuttering-Severa.

"Hello Severa," he said.

The sound of his voice saying her name was enough to make her knees weak. She was conscious of his eyes on her and she suddenly became aware of about a hundred flaws that she had. _'Do I smell nice? Is there parsley between my teeth? Is my skirt too short? Too long? Should I have worn a dress instead of my armor?'_

"Would you like to have some?" he offered her some food.

She nodded. He gave her the s'mores that he just made, "open wide," he said.

She opened her mouth and he gently put a morsel in it. Stahl's fingers lingered on her lips and it sent shivers down her spine. "It's sweet. I've never had one before," she said.

"If you want, I can make you lots and lots of s'mores," he said.

Severa blushed, "t-that would be nice. I really love how you look – er cook! Cook! I really love how you cook. Where did you get your clothes?"

"Lon'qu and Say'ri told me about Chon'sin armor and how it helps in maneuverability. They said it was pliable and comfortable, so I bought one. So…" he scratched the tip of his nose, "you love how I look in it?"

"It's not – " Severa started, "I love it. I - it looks good on you," she mumbled.

He moved closer to her and leaned in a little, "I'm sorry. What was that?" he asked.

' _Now I'm the one looking at his face!'_ Severa stuttered, "I didn't… I-I um… shut up!" Severa reached for his hair and ruffled it. "I said it looks good on you." She looked into his eyes then glanced at his lips. _'His lips are so near…'_

Stahl put his chin on the palm of his hand and he smirked at her, "Thanks. You look very beautiful tonight."

Severa tucked some stray hair behind her ear and smiled sheepishly. "You have never called me beautiful before."

"Let this be the first of many," he gazed into her eyes, "you are very beautiful," he said.

Her eyes fluttered. It felt wonderful when he gave her that compliment, "A-and you are handsome and charming. I don't know why you keep telling yourself that you look average. THAT should stop because… I've always loved how you looked. Especially your eyes and your hair, I can't figure out if they are brown or green so I go with hazel."

Stahl stretched and casually put his hand on her shoulder to draw her near. He ran his knuckles softly down her cheek, "thanks," he said softly. "I go with olive but hazel is nice too. You know, I never really got to ask you what kind of food you like."

"It's a dessert sandwich," she answered. "It may not have been invented in this time yet, and I've only had it once in my whole life. It has very thinly sliced strawberries and it's topped with burnt sugar. The sugar is crunchy and a little bitter, but underneath that, it's all sweet and soft," she answered.

"I can imagine. Just thinking about it made my mouth water," he said.

"Y-you, rather the other you, made it for me," she said.

He looked surprised, "really? I guess I can make it for you here. I'm going to call it The Severa."

Severa hit his arm.

"Yep, there we go. I was waiting for that. A little teasing and you hit my arm," he chuckled.

"I-it's like you're saying that I make your mouth water!" he caught her wrist before she could hit him again.

"I don't see anything wrong with that. Do you?" He looked coyly at her, and he ran his fingers through her hair.

She slapped his arm four times with her free hand. "A-are you flirting with me?! I thought we were past that point."

"If I say yes, would you let me?"

Severa covered her face with her hands and she felt excited. "Y-yes!" she gasped. _'Oh gods! Did I just say that out loud? Ohgodsohgodsohgods…'_

"I gotta say that I didn't expect you to say yes. Now my confidence is gone and I think I lost my groove a little," he said, looking a little surprised.

She shook her head and blinked several times, "so… so um… that's it? You lose your confidence and then you stop flirting with me?"

"Maybe if you flirt with me, I can gain my confidence back so I can flirt with you too," he said.

Severa bit her lip and then she giggled. "I have to say, that was pretty smooth…"

"Hehe, I had to stop eating dinner just so I could think of a good pick-up line that wasn't _'do you like raisins? What do you feel about a date?'_ " he said.

"… until you totally ruined THAT moment, dork." The inevitable slap landed on his arm.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's your fault you know! Here I was being all romantic and stuff, then you came up with the cheesiest pick up lines that would make Henry proud." Severa said.

"I'm not really good at that. What I know from that is what I learned from the kitchen so, er, you know firsthand how stupid they can be," he chuckled. "I just realized something. You know a lot of things about me because of your time traveling advantage, but you don't reveal much about yourself."

"So?"

"I want to spend the rest of the night with you, lying on the ground and looking at the stars while we talk about you. Just you. I want to know what you like, what you hate, what makes you smile, why you're saving your first kiss for me and if you had other suitors. I want to know everything."

She sighed happily and gently pushed him on the ground. Stahl opened his arm to let her in, and she fit perfectly next to him. Severa traced circles on his chest and hummed softly at how blissful it was to be next to him like this. "What do you want to know?"

"Got any big plans for the future? What do you dream about doing?"

"I dream of being perfect like my mother… But don't you dare tell anyone!"

Stahl chuckled softly, "I won't tell anyone! But I don't think there is a need for you to strive for perfection. You are already perfect," he said.

"But I'm mean, I'm abusive, and I can't do the things that my mother can do," she protested. "I can't make my own javelin from scratch, I can't play the harp, and I have this darkness inside me that will consume me unless I know how to control it. I can turn evil anytime, Stahl. Do you still think I'm perfect?"

"Severa, you are flawed, but you are real. That alone is perfection, and that is why I find you beautiful." He squeezed her tightly. "Besides, I love the darkness. Without it, I cannot appreciate the stars, I would not see who you truly are. It was in the darkness that you have revealed your soul to me."

"Stahl…" She buried her face on his shoulder to hide her embarrassment. "How about you? I hear people with dreams have more luck with their love lives. What are your dreams?" she asked.

"Well, once a knight, always a knight. But I'd like to try the world's best food just once," he said sheepishly.

"Lame."

"I'm not an ambitious man… I never really thought much about what I want, but I do wish I lived by an ocean. Just think of all the fresh fish... Sautéed in butter... Filleted and breaded..." his stomach grumbled. "Ugh, there goes my stomach again. I really need to get control of that..."

Severa laughed and squeezed him tightly. "The island where you found me had really good food. Maybe we can go there after the war and just eat?"

"I would love to go there with you," he said. "It's a date then. By the way, I have often wondered why you always wore those ribbons. I can't help but think that there is a story behind it."

She put her hand on his chest and felt for his heartbeat. "You gave them to me, that's why I treasure them dearly. The other you, I mean."

"I didn't know that you were the sentimental type," he said.

"I am sentimental," she answered shyly. "I value the people that I love a lot and that goes down to the things that they give me. I still have with me the last allowance that my real mother gave me, her ring, my father's sword and these ribbons."

"Then, what was I to you? I mean, the other me?"

She felt his heart beating faster in his chest and knew that it matched hers. "Y-You were an important person to me. You were there to take care of us when everybody else was gone. You were beloved by everyone, but I did not love you in the same way that they did. I-I loved you so much… I really loved you even if I knew that it was one-sided. But you, he, didn't love me because it wasn't proper. I was fourteen and he was thirty-six. He told me to be with people of my own age. I went back in time - "

"You came back for me so we can be together," he said as he stroked her face.

"I did."

He tucked her hair behind her ears, "Severa… I don't deserve you."

"Stahl, I have never loved anybody else." She clutched his shirt and he embraced her tighter. "Please don't say that you don't deserve me. What you feel for me, what we feel for each other, is more than enough to make you worthy, dummy!"

"If you loved me even before I met you, then every time that you told me I'm a dummy or I'm stupid, were you saying something else?"

"I-I wanted you to see what I felt for you. But you couldn't, so I called you that."

"Every time that you slapped my arm, was it because you wanted to get close to me?"

"I-it's… yes. It's the only way that I could touch you casually."

He rolled on top of her, cupped her face with his hands and pressed his forehead against hers. "When you swore fealty to me…"

"I was saying that I… I wanted to be with you forever."

She closed her eyes. She couldn't be this close to him without feeling the need to kiss him. Stahl tapped the tip of her nose and Severa felt like she was going to melt. "I felt what you did. I knew that there was something between us. I just wanted to hear you say it yourself. I'm sorry I was stupid enough not to make the first move. I should've told you that I loved you a long time ago."

Her arms went around his neck and Stahl smiled. "So what kind of music do you like?"

' _Dammit! I thought he was going to kiss me,'_ She harrumphed. "In my time we listened to rock n' roll. It's too bad that I can't play a guitar, I can't let you hear how awesome it is. Singing won't do it justice."

"Really?"

"I can't sing."

"Have you even tried?"

"Not really…" she glanced at his eager face, "fine! I'll sing. This one is by Bill and the Comets.

" _We'll be right in seventh heaven_ _  
_ _We're gonna rock around the clock tonight"_

Stahl felt flustered. "Uh, yeah… that song is about…"

"That song is about dancing, okay? DANCING!"

Stahl laughed, "If you say so. You have a pleasant voice, albeit a little shaky. With a little practice, you could be great!"

"Really? I'd love to hear you sing."

Stahl stood up and offered his hand to her. "Come with me, there is something that I need to show you first before I can sing to you."

' _Okay, okay, I should say yes. I definitely should say yes! Just say yes! Just say yes!'_

"Well, ye… no."

"Oh. Okay, we should stay here then. I guess, this will have to wait until the next time we go to Valm."

' _Crap!'_ She shook her head. "I mean, it's um, you know! It's, it's not like I'm doing anything anyway s-so I'll join you."

"Yes!" Stahl exclaimed gleefully. He packed away the rest of the s'mores and the two of them woke up their replacements, Cherche and Lon'qu, and picked up Cookie from the stables.

"Severa, I have to put a blindfold on you. Is that okay?"

"Sure," she said.

"Okay, ride sidesaddle." Stahl assisted Severa up the horse and took his place behind her. He gently put the blindfold over her eyes and she wondered what it was exactly that he had in store for her. "Hold on to me now," he said. Severa leaned her head on his chest and clutched his shirt.

"Let's go."

The two of them rode into the night. They talked about the other things that he wanted to know about her. "I like strawberries, I hate cherries, and the silly things that you do make me smile."

"I like to see you happy, I hate seeing you hurt and I smile whenever you show me your sweet side."

"Ugh! You are soooo cheesy."

"Are we there yet?" Severa asked him.

"Just a little longer now," he answered.

"It must be dawn by now."

"You'll see," he said.

Stahl halted his destrier. He dismounted and led Cookie to the nearest bush. He tethered his horse and assisted Severa down. He took her hand and guided her somewhere. She felt the cobblestones beneath her feet, and she heard birds singing around them. The air around them smelled sweet. "Where are we?"

He took off the blindfold from her eyes and leaned closer so he could whisper in her ear. "You can open your eyes now," he said.

It was dawn. They were in a field of white flower trees that went as far as her eyes can see. A gentle wind blew and the delicate petals fell slowly to the ground, carpeting the grass beneath them. She turned around and saw a tiny castle behind them. The sky turned into a lovely shade of pink and Stahl stood right beside her, holding her hand. He looked like he stepped right out of a dream. "Where are we?"

"We are in the Dragon Sanctuary. The reason why you didn't go on the mission to recruit Lady Tikki was because I asked Robin to take you here myself," he said.

Severa put her hands to her mouth. "It's beautiful here! And what are these?" she asked as she touched the leathery green leaves and saw the silver underside. On closer inspection, the flowers had a gradient pink hue on its tips. They didn't have these kinds of flowers in Ylisse.

"They are called camellias and the one that you're touching now is a subspecies. It's called Star Above Star," Stahl said as he smiled.

"Like… like what you said to me when we first danced…"

"There are stars above you now," he said. He had a look in his eyes that sent her blushing.

"What are you doing?"

"Let's pretend that we are in a ball in this garden. You look beautiful in a dress and I am asking you to dance with me. The stars above us are these flowers," he reached for a flower, plucked it and put it behind her ear. He bowed and extended his hand, "Milady, would you allow me to have this dance with you?"

Her hand trembled as she accepted his hand. "Yes," she said.

Stahl put his hand on her waist and drew her closer as he swayed her. Severa pressed her cheek to his chest and she smiled as she heard his heart. "I was working on a song for you," he said. "Would you like to hear it?"

"I would love to."

He cleared his throat and he sang.

" _It had to be you, it had to be you  
I wandered around, and finally found - the somebody who  
Could make me be true, and could make me be blue  
And even be glad, just to be sad - thinking of you  
Some others I've seen, might never be mean  
Might never be cross, or try to be boss, but they wouldn't do  
For nobody else, gave me a thrill - with all your faults, I love you still  
It had to be you, wonderful you, it had to be you"_

He swayed her, and twirled her and the falling petals of the camellia flowers danced along with them. Severa didn't know how fast the song lasted but it was already over before she could fully savor the time that she spent in his arms. At the end of the song, all she could do was put her arms around his neck.

"Severa…"

"Stahl, I'm afraid. I don't want the people I love to die again. I'm only mean so that people don't get too close to me. I don't want them to get too close to me so I won't remember their sacrifice and get hurt again. While I am happy loving you, I am also scared of losing you. Love can be painful, so please… take this." She gave him the talisman that she took from Nelson long ago. "I know that you're weak against magic, so I hope this helps."

"Love is also wonderful." She put her hand on his cheek and Stahl kissed her palm. "I have been hurt before. I went through relationships, all of them ending sourly, and I thought that I would never love again. I thought that I was resigned to my fate of being alone and lonely. But when I got to fully know you, I started to hope, that maybe you were the right one for me. I was also scared that you wouldn't love me back. I didn't know what to do because of all the people in the world, I have fallen deeply for you. It hurt when you said that you hated me, but thankfully it wasn't the case. You loved me too and now it is the only thing in the world that matters. So I'm giving you my heart, but please be careful with it, because I want you to be my last."

"I'm giving you my heart as well. You are my first love, and I want you to be my last. So if you love me like you tell me, then take care of my heart too! I want you to promise me that there'll be no one else for you, and you'll be right beside me forever."

"I promise. I'll be gentle with your heart and I'll be right beside you forever."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then," she took out one of the coupons he gave her. It said 'redeemable for one: kiss' written on it. "Seal that promise with a kiss."

Stahl looked into her soul and found exactly how she felt for him. "I love you," he said. He ran his fingers through her hair and Severa closed her eyes. He closed his eyes and gently showed her how much he felt for her through a kiss that stopped time.

Severa's eyes fluttered open and she sighed when their lips parted. "Your kiss is like you. It's warm and gentle. I would love to try it again."

Stahl wrapped his arms around her waist and he kissed her again. "It's like you. Soft and really sweet. I love you, Severa."

"I love you too, Stahl."

* * *

Credits:  
Rock around the Clock by Bill Haley & his Comets  
It Had to be You by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn

RJKG, we have known each other since we were 14. This one's for you.


End file.
